Before he began the hot wing gauntlet on the popular streaming show “Hot Ones,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took a few deep breaths.
“That’s typically what I do before a two-minute drill,” he said.
Williams, who was known for his last-minute comebacks last year, went on to master all 10 wings put in front him — all while conducting an interview with host Sean Evans.
Williams, who lost weight during the offseason, joked Tuesday that he did the show months ago on a “cheat day.”
“It was hot as [expletive],” he said. “No, it was a good time. He asked good questions, but yeah, you can count it as a cheat day. It was a good day.”
Here are the top five things we learned from his interview:
1. He didn’t know if he’d like Chicago at first.
Williams and Evans — who attended Crystal Lake Central High School and the University of Illinois, and is a lifelong Bears fans — bonded over the quarterback’s love of the city. Truth be told, though, Williams wasn’t sure he’d love Chicago as much as he has.
“I didn’t think I was gonna like it that much, to be honest,” he said. “And I fell in love with the city of Chicago, the people, the food. Obviously the sports. … I’ve got a couple other friends playing in Chicago sports — [the Cubs’] PCA [Pete Crow-Armstrong], [the Bulls’] Matas [Buzelis], other guys. …
“The people I would say is the biggest thing. I didn’t realize the people were so hospitable. Also Chicago is insanely clean. That surprised me.”
2. Ben Johnson is part mentor, part partner
When Williams was asked to describe his relationship with Johnson, he said he was part mentor — given how hard he coaches him during the week — and part jazz partner.
“The jazz part is typically on Sunday,” he said. “You get on the field and it becomes poetic, it becomes a good ole jazz night.”
3. Receiver Jahdae Walker never shuts up.
“You hear Jahdae Walker when you wake up,” Williams said. “You hear him when you go to sleep.”
He identified other teammate superlatives, saying tight end Cole Kmet and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett would be good head coaches; quarterback Case Keenum had the smartest football mind; and that Walker and Luther Burden had the best touchdown celebrations.
4. Milk was a good choice
Williams plowed through the wings as they got increasingly spicier — from 2,100 Scoville units to 7,900 to 18,000 to 32,000 to 54,000 to 69,000 to 102,000. He began to struggle with the third-to-last wing, which was scored a 135,600 on the scale, which measures capsaicinoids.
“That’s the hot one, isn’t it?” he asked, choking up.
When the next wing was presented — at 820,000 Scoville units — he winced.
“We got more milk?” he asked.
The final wing had a Scoville scale of “TBA,” which is scary enough. Williams took a swig of milk — “Shout out, dairy!” he said — and took a bite. He stood and raised his hands like a victorious boxer.
5. He wants to be the best
Williams was asked to break down what made the following quarterbacks great:
• Randall Cunningham: “Cannon. He could do the thing I did versus the Rams from 20 extra yards.”
• Tom Brady: “Two-minute Killer. End-of-game. Moment-Killer.”
• Aaron Rodgers: “Magician with the football.”
And how about Williams himself?
“All of the above,” Williams, who’s never been short of confidence, said with a laugh.
