Caleb Williams called the huddle for the Chicago Bears during the Black Friday game, and coach Ben Johnson relayed the play. Business as usual — until Williams realized something wasn’t quite right with the call. The Bears’ 24-year-old quarterback adjusted it to what Johnson meant — not what he said. And then the Bears ran that play against the Eagles.
“I screwed up a play call and he made it right for me,” Johnson said this week at a press conference.
Despite Chicago’s 24-15 upset of the defending champs, the plays weren’t all that pretty for the Bears’ passing offense against Philly. They were downright ugly, at times. But it’s fascinating to get a window into some of the moments we can’t see or hear on the broadcast or from the stadium seats.
“He’s getting better each and every week in that regard of playing the quarterback position,” Johnson said. “It’s all-hands-on-deck for us to clean up this passing game to make it more of a weapon.”
Though Ben Johnson’s first season in Chicago is going extremely well, quarterback Caleb Williams and the passing game remain a work in progress. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
This urgency surrounding the passing game — as a whole — is new.
We might not have been able to witness that moment between Williams and Johnson. But we can plainly see that Williams is holding back Chicago’s offense as often as he’s producing explosive plays.
Amid Williams’ inconsistency from play to play, Johnson is consistent in his assessment from week to week. The first-year head coach will acknowledge his QB’s variance from throw to throw — “There are ups and there are downs” — but will praise Williams’ preparation throughout the week — “He’s in a lot better place now with his process than he was to start the season.” Johnson might talk about Williams’ footwork, too.
But the biggest focus is reading the defense and using the coach’s system to recognize and exploit defensive weaknesses.
“Now you’re looking to manipulate the defense a little bit more,” Johnson said back in September.
Months after that comment, that’s still a work in progress for Williams — which isn’t necessarily a problem. But it is a reality.
It’s not a problem because the Bears’ defense leads the NFL in takeaways and the rushing attack has come on strong in the past few weeks. It’s also not a problem because of the team’s strength of schedule. It once seemed like one of the league’s most difficult, but in the shifting NFL landscape, it has turned out to be fairly easy — so far.
It’s about to get a whole lot harder, with games against the 49ers and the Lions and two games against the Packers (including Sunday on FOX at 4:25 p.m. ET). It’s why I wouldn’t exactly bet on the Bears finishing with the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which is where they currently sit.
Because while the Bears’ victory over the Eagles was their crowning achievement so far this season, the win seems to have left Johnson with a troubling assessment of his passing offense.
“Everybody’s got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up,” he said Monday. “It’s not where it needs to be. We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. None of us are pleased with that right now.”
The next day, he added: “I think when I made that comment yesterday, it is easily construed as I’m not happy with the quarterback. That’s not the case whatsoever. He continues to get better each and every week, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how he played last week and I know what the stats say. Throw those out the window. He’s doing a really good job managing the ball game and that’s step number one for the quarterback.”
Coaches aren’t always honest about their players when speaking with the media. But you can’t spot a lie in Johnson’s assessment of how Williams manages games. The Bears have won five games by four points or fewer. Quarterbacks generally play a role in steering their teams through those narrow victories.
And certainly, Chicago hasn’t lost many games because of Williams.
Despite the shortcomings in Williams’ film (and I’ll get to those), he has always been solid in avoiding turnovers. He doesn’t have the arm arrogance that has sunk (or, at least, held back) the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Sam Darnold and sometimes even Josh Allen.
This year, Williams has also improved enormously in avoiding sacks. His sack percentage has tumbled from 10.8% in 2024 to 4.6% in 2025. That’s as much a credit to him as it is to his revamped offensive line. Given how long it takes Williams to throw, that improvement isn’t necessarily related to his having confidence in his progression — or his receivers getting more open than last year. But it’s an improvement nonetheless.
But it’s complicated to make the case that the Bears are winning games because of Williams.
Among QBs, he ranks 18th in EPA per dropback on third and fourth downs (among passers who have at least 25 dropbacks in those situations). Williams is seventh in EPA per dropback on third and fourth downs in the fourth quarter (among passers with at least 15 dropbacks in those situations), but his completion percentage over expected (CPOE) is -11.2.
Cardiac Caleb? I don’t know.
The Bears may someday build their offense around Williams as the centerpiece, but for the time being, they are instead working around Williams to sustain an efficient offense.
That was clearest against the Eagles, whose impressive pass defense held Williams in check: 17-of-36 (47.2%) for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Running backs Kyle Monangai (130 rushing yards, 1 TD) and D’Andre Swift (125 rushing yards, 1 TD) saved the day.
Williams might have every trait he needs to become not just an elite quarterback but a transcendent QB, one who takes control of the NFC (not just the NFC North) and never gives it back. And Williams should consider himself lucky to have Johnson, who should be able to convert those traits and potential into a finished product.
For the time being, Williams’ tape radiates with high highs and remarkable plays — but it’s also muddled with pockmark inconsistencies: poor accuracy, looking off open receivers and throws to covered receivers. His coach will admit it. He’ll admit it.
“The whole process is, let’s get the ball out faster, let’s get through the reads,” Williams said last month. “Sometimes I get through my reads actually too fast. Maybe because of leverage or maybe because of the covers that I’m seeing, sometimes you just need to hang on. We’ve got special guys, so sometimes you need to hang on to it and let it rip.”
Williams’ flow through his progression hasn’t found that sweet spot. The other thing that seems out of balance is his instinct to run the football. Williams has displayed impressive mobility, especially escaping sacks. He has also been a constant threat as a runner — maybe excessively. His rushes over expected are first in the league at 63.6%, per Next Gen Stats.
That might be why the Bears aren’t getting that much juice out of each squeeze. He is 24th in EPA per carry among quarterbacks. That complicates the idea that, as Johnson has indicated, Williams’ mobility is a play-saver.
“It’s fun,” Johnson said about calling plays for a mobile quarterback. “I don’t have to be perfect as a playcaller. I’ve always tried to be that to where you get the primary receiver open the majority of the time. I don’t feel that necessity anymore. He has a way of, if number one’s open, he will take it and we’re getting to where he’s progressing to two and three.”
Johnson said that earlier in the year. I’m not sure his message would be quite so effusive today.
The scrambling isn’t overly efficient and the passing game — when run properly — should be outstanding. Remember: Johnson isn’t just one of the NFL’s best playcallers and designers. He’s also working with an elite group of pass-catchers, from veterans Rome Odunze and DJ Moore to rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden.
Now, for all the negativity surrounding their performance, the Bears gave us a taste of what their offense could look like at its best on Black Friday. During their fourth-quarter touchdown drive, Johnson and Williams got into lockstep.
On third-and-4 from Chicago’s 43-yard line, Johnson called a play that made Williams’ life extremely easy, running a play with tight end Cole Kmet setting a pick on a crossing route opposite Odunze (in what’s called a mesh concept). Williams hit the wide-open Odunze, who picked up the first down. Later on that drive, on second-and-8, Williams rolled left on play-action and flipped the ball 28-yards downfield to the end zone, where he found Kmet for a touchdown.
It was an incredible sequence for the passing game.
Maybe that’s why Williams struck an optimistic note about the Bears’ passing attack.
“It’s so close,” he said.
And maybe that’s because Williams is close. But for the time being, he’s the one holding this offense back.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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