Before the start of the season, head coach Ben Johnson set a goal for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams to aim to complete 70% of his passes. Three games into the season, he heard a 63.7% but it went downhill from there.
From week three on, Williams’ completion percentage sits at 56.5% the worst out of any starting quarterback in the league, but at 10-4, the percentage hasn’t affected Chicago in ways that you’d think.
For starters, Chicago is second in the NFL in rush yards per game with 151.9, which helps Williams when, at times, the run game can take over and win ball games. And overall in 14 games with Johnson, the Bears are fifth in the NFL in total yards per game at 369.1.
Both Johnson and Williams know the passing game isn’t where it needs to be, but Williams has a tendency to make the completions when it matters most.
Williams on 3rd and long (7+) has the eighth most 1st downs or touchdowns in the NFL among quarterbacks with 20. In the fourth quarter, Williams has 15 touchdowns or 1st downs with 15 on the season, ranking him seventh. And overall, Williams has 58 1st downs or touchdowns on 3rd down, putting him seventh with all other quarterbacks, according to @NFL_Researcher.
After the Bears’ 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, where the Bears rushed for 281 yards, had only 154 passing yards, and Williams had his worst completion percentage as a pro at 47.2%, Johnson harped on the improvement each individual needed to make to improve the passing game.
“Everybody’s got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. It’s not where it needs to be. We’re winning despite our pass game, not because of it, and none of us are pleased with it right now,” Johnson said.
Sunday against the Cleveland Browns was one of the more clean games for Williams in the passing game, and could mean the start of Williams finding rhythm as Chicago gears up for a potential playoff push.
After starting the game 0-3 with a drop on the game’s opening possession, Williams proceeded to go 9-for-9 with 142 yards and a touchdown. Williams finished the game 17-for-28, 242 yards passing, and two passing touchdowns.
Williams also had his second-highest game with yards per pass completion at 14.2 and put himself into a category with the greats in his position. Williams on Sunday surpassed 1,000 career pass attempts and broke an NFL record for the fewest interceptions (12) by a quarterback in those 1,000 career attempts.
“I haven’t had to say a whole lot; he’s done that throughout training camp and up to this point in the season. I just think that’s who he is,” Johnson said. “He understands where he feels like he can fit a ball into, and he’s got a unique skill-set in terms of how hard he can throw, he can throw that football, and some windows that may not seem up to the rest of us, they are still open to him because he’s able to get that call in there. He has a good feel for that; he’s been playing this sport for a long time, and I don’t think there’s a whole lot of coaching in terms of telling him who’s open and who’s not. I think he’s naturally got a good feel for that.”
The process of developing Williams is still ongoing — it’s only 14 games into year one with Johnson. The talent is there, from his off-script plays to clutch performance, escapability, and arm strength. The more reps and situational football Williams experiences, the better he becomes.
And Johnson has done it all, from film breakdown to execution from the huddle to the line of scrimmage, letting Williams learn from his mistakes, but at the same time doing it with his concept and his philosophy and being on the same page.
“This is a long journey that we have up in front of us, and we are trying to make as many strides as we possibly can. From springtime all the way up until this point, it’s a continual basis. It’s not going to stop. He’ll be a lot better off a year from now than he is here and now, and he’ll be a lot better off five years from now than he’ll be a year from now. That’s a continual growth process, and I think he understands that.”
“I’m just really excited about getting the basics of this offense down. I think the pre-snap procedure is something we have been harping on for a long time, and that’s really starting to come to light. It’s unlocked a lot of elements of the shifts, the motions, the cadence, the things of this offense that we want to do to attack defenses. The more reps he gets on every single concept, the game is starting to slow down for him, and that’s encouraging to see.”
Getting of to a fast start has been another point of emphasis for the Bears especially coming out of the 28-21 loss to the Packers. On Sunday, against the Browns, Chicago after punting the ball on their opening possession, scored in the following two, taking a14-0 lead.
“I’ve felt this way the whole season so far is that I’ve been improving. Even if it’s in ways that people can’t see or maybe feel,” Williams said. “When I go back and watch, or coach, and I go back and watch, we watch, and we can look at things that maybe y’all don’t, maybe the outside world doesn’t know, in ways that I’ve been getting better. I think the confidence in myself, but also within the offense and trust with the coach, has grown, and so with all that, the constant mindset of growing, the constant growth that I’ve had is going to keep growing over time, and it’s something that I’m focused on. If I play how I played this past game, or if I play better than that, we got a real shot to do whatever we want in this league.”
Chicago has already exceeded realistic expectations far beyond what was put in place over the summer, and, leading the NFC North with three games left, the Bears are thinking playoffs, with a real possibility of even hosting a first-round playoff game.
Williams, along with the Bears offense and defense, is approaching a part of the season when playing their best ball is needed to maximize the season as much as possible. Getting the passing game going and Williams playing with more accuracy could be exactly what Chicago needs to push them into winning the NFC North and making some noise in the playoffs.
If Chicago wins Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago clinches a playoff spot. And if Chicago wins out their final three games against Green Bay, San Francisco, and Detroit, not only do they secure the NFC North, but also the No. 2 seed and potentially the No. 1 seed.
The Pulse 
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