The Caleb Williams experience has had plenty of thrills and plunges, and the Bears’ game against the Packers on Sunday was full of both.
One moment, Williams was stuck at 7-for-15 passing, down 14-3 in the third quarter and sputtering at Lambeau Field like past Bears quarterbacks. The next, he threaded a Matrix-style touchdown pass through a defender’s arms to Olamide Zaccheaus — Next Gen Stats calculated a 16.9% probability of completing that one — and led the Bears to the brink of another epic comeback.
He fell short, though, as his final pass was intercepted in the end zone by cornerback Keisean Nixon to seal the Packers’ 28-21 win and send the Bears tumbling from the top playoff seed in the NFC to the seventh spot.
As Williams has said often, it’d be preferable to play well enough throughout games that he’s not in need of a late rally. The goal is a steadier performance, especially when it comes to the basics, with heroics stacked on top of it.
Bears coach Ben Johnson, whose most important task is getting Williams to run his clockwork offense with precision, said Monday there are plays every game in which Williams needs to do a better job hitting open receivers on time and leading them into yards after the catch.
He isn’t always recognizing options popping open, especially underneath, and pouncing quickly enough to get them the ball in space. His mechanics have been loose at times, too, leading to inaccurate passes and a troubling 57.8 completion percentage.
“Then there’s that mix of, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen in my life,’ deal with him,” Johnson said, undoubtedly thinking of the Zaccheaus pass and various other amazing off-platform throws Williams has made this season.
Those are the plays that make him special. He needs to improve, however, on the things that don’t seem so special, but are essential.
“We’re striving to combine both of those worlds,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have a really good quarterback, a really dangerous quarterback, a really dangerous offense, a really good team, for a long time when we’re really able to combine both of those thought processes.
“We’re not quite there yet. We’re working diligently every day. You see growth in so many other areas. When that last little bit comes along, we’re going to be really pleased.”
The Bears’ playoff hopes depend on it.
If it clicks for Williams soon, they’ll be a scary opponent in the postseason. If it doesn’t, it’ll be dicey even getting there.
That proved true on his interception at the end, and Johnson stood by calling a pass on fourth-and-one at the Packers’ 14-yard line, saying the play “had a lot of options.” Not only was the pass to tight end Cole Kmet underthrown, but Williams should’ve seen him spring open earlier.
While Williams was up and down and completed 54% of his passes on his way to a 76.6 passer rating, counterpart Jordan Love overcame an early interception to complete 68% of his passes, post a 120.7 passer rating and push Johnson to desperation.
When the Bears got the ball at their own 26-yard line down 28-21 with 3:32 left, Johnson was adamant about running clock to prevent Love from getting a rebuttal. He even considered going for the two-point conversion if they scored rather than take his chances in overtime.
“As well as Jordan Love was playing… the last thing we wanted to do was give them enough time to respond because of how dangerous they had been on offense,” Johnson said.
That’s where the Bears need Williams to go. Love is more polished, and that comes with being more experienced and having five seasons in the same offense. He does the simple things well and builds on that foundation with some big plays. Johnson is trying to get Williams to do the same.
