Night games?
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams digs ’em.
That’s a good thing considering the NFL’s prime-time opinion of the upstart Bears, who are scheduled for “Monday Night Football” against the Eagles (Week 3) and the Seahawks (Week 8) in addition to a Thursday-nighter against the Patriots (Week 7), a Sunday-nighter against the Buccaneers (Week 9) and a Saturday-nighter against the Bills (Week 15).
“I love playing at night,” Williams said Friday on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast. “It’s the game of the night. Nobody else is on. It’s us and the team on the other side of the ball, and let’s battle it out.”
As for playing in cold weather, also known as Bear weather?
Williams digs that, too.
“I love it,” he said. “I love playing in the cold. I actually love the cold more than any other weather, because my temperature [runs] hot. … I always feel that I play better when it’s cold and get better toward the end of the year.”
It’s almost as though this guy were made for fourth-and-everything in the waning moments of a January game under the lights at Soldier Field. The nearest Packer might even agree.
Caleb Williams made the throw of the year 4 different times 🎯 pic.twitter.com/vYtpbqy1M1
— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2026
Williams would add a special ingredient in that scenario if he could: the chance to kick snow in the faces of critics who get bent out of shape because — a mere two seasons into his career — he completes a lower percentage of passes than most starters around the league and has a tendency to start slowly in games.
“Stats aren’t always something you should look at,” Williams said. “You should look at how they win games.”
Is he right? Be careful answering lest you get a sudden mouthful of slush.
“Obviously I want to get the completion percentage up, but some of the [good] things that I do on the field negatively impacts that,” he said. “But we’ll get it up anyway just to shut everybody up and help them understand. …
“We’ll get it up, we’ll make everybody’s heart feel warm and lovely, and it’ll also help us in the long run of winning games and starting games better, starting games faster, doing all those things.”
Headed toward a second training camp with coach Ben Johnson, Williams described their work together as “challenging.” Johnson is pushing him to be more decisive in attacking certain coverages, taking big shots when they’re there, being more trusting of his receivers to make plays and — still a major box to check — being better at hitting receivers in stride so they can pile up more yards after catches.
It’s called taking the next step toward superstardom. All the best QBs do it. Williams has a ways to go to get to the top tier even if EA Sports made him its Madden 27 cover man — the first Bear to receive that honor.
Some of us who don’t play video games probably don’t quite get what a big deal that was.
“A childhood dream,” Williams said.
It seems there’s a dreaded “Madden curse” to worry about, except Williams isn’t worrying about it.
“We’re not going to mention it, but I don’t believe in those things,” he said. “I don’t think they’re real. We’re going to go prove it.”
If he’s right, it could mean more playoff wins are in store. It turns out Williams digs those, too. Who knew?
“It’s fun. It’s exciting,” he said. “And there’s a lot more coming.”