It was always understood that as a young NFL quarterback learning a new system, Caleb Williams would need time to acclimate to Bears coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
That runway isn’t infinite, though. This is the point where Williams should be turning a corner.
One way to know that’s the case is by taking a look at Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who went two picks after Williams in the 2024 draft and has overcome similar coaching turmoil to emerge as an MVP favorite.
As Williams heads into Sunday’s game against the Browns, he’s doing some things better than he did as a rookie and taking modest steps in the offense — but he’s not playing well enough to vault the Bears into championship contention. Without more from him, it will be difficult to even make the playoffs. The Bears (9-4) have the seventh seed in the NFC at the moment and finish the season against the Packers, 49ers and Lions.
The Browns may be near the bottom of the NFL at 3-10, but they won’t make it easy on Williams. They have the best pass rusher of this era in defensive end Myles Garrett, who has 20 sacks and needs three more to set the single-season record. They also have the No. 2 overall defense and have allowed the fewest passing yards. They’re ranked 12th in the NFL in opponent completion percentage and 14th in opponent passer rating.
Among 27 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 250 passes this season, Williams ranks 20th in passer rating (87.2), 14th in yards per game (223.7), 12th in touchdown passes (19), last in completion percentage (57.8) and 20th in passer rating (87.2). His six interceptions are the eighth-lowest.
His two biggest problems have been timing and accuracy. He needs to be quicker in recognizing open receivers, especially right off the line of scrimmage, and more disciplined in his throwing fundamentals.
It’s on Johnson to sort out which issues Williams is capable of fixing immediately and which will take more time because they’re just part of the deal in adjusting to an offense.
“Both of those [categories] come up,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of thinking going on for him right now. Since the bye week, we’ve opened up all these shifts and motions. When that happens, he’s making sure he’s checking off all the boxes before the snap.
“Because of that, the post-snap play suffers a little bit. . . . It’s something that we’re going to continue to work through. We’re going to get there. I’m not worried about that aspect of it. It’s just a matter of time.”
Johnson believes that strongly enough that he’s willing to bet the season on it. He could curb the pre-snap complexities and get the Bears back to the simpler version of the offense they ran the first four games. But he’s certain that the pre-snap actions have boosted the rushing attack, which ranks second in the league, and that Williams will catch up.
Although there’s a negligible difference in Williams’ numbers from his first season to his second, Johnson is higher than ever on his outlook. He said when he took the job that Williams was a big part of the draw. He’s more confident now. He raved last week about Williams’ “coachability aspect.” And Johnson isn’t having to point out errors any-more; Williams brings them up himself.
“He’s doing a really good job of being critical of himself,” Johnson said. “We see it the same way. When he’s critical of himself and he’s taking to coaching, good things are coming on the horizon.”
It’s telling that Williams hasn’t stopped talking about how much he loves playing for Johnson even as Johnson has been relentlessly hard on him these last 11 months. Every time he mentions his coaching, it’s a reminder of how poorly Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron handled him last season.
Williams said last week his communication with Johnson this season is the foundation for what they both hope will be a lasting partnership. He realizes he’s not going to be able to run this offense as expertly as Lions quarterback Jared Goff did with far more experience.
“The details that this offense takes, it’s going to take a little bit more than a year or so to be able to get on [Johnson’s] level to where I can go and speak to the guys and everything’s aligned between him and I and we’re basically saying the exact same thing,” Williams said.
That’s what it would be like if Johnson’s offense were running optimally, as it did in Detroit. But that’s not what the Bears are asking of Williams at the moment. They don’t need him to be perfect — just better.
Everything they hope for this season hinges on that breakthrough.