1. How do you grade Williams?
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams addresses the media Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, at Halas Hall after the season ended with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC divisional playoff game. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Teammates gave him high marks for his playmaking abilities, but a lot goes into the duties of a quarterback.
He had his “A” games and his “F” moments, but it’s clear that after his second season he remains an incomplete product.
Some of his final numbers seem almost contradictory in nature:
- Williams broke Erik Kramer’s 30-year-old franchise record for regular-season passing yards (3,838, set in 16 games in 1995) when he threw for 3,942 yards in 17 games.
- Yet Williams failed to come close to Johnson’s goal of 70% completion rate, and in fact, he dropped from 62.5% his rookie year to 58.1%.
- Williams finished second to Jim McMahon (636 in 1985) with 618 passing yards in a single Bears postseason, and his four postseason passing touchdowns ranked second to Sid Luckman (five in 1943).
- Despite a three-interception game against the Rams, he was anything but pick-prone. His 1.2% (2025) and 1.1% (2024) interception rates are the lowest among any Bears quarterbacks with a minimum of eight starts (half a season under the previous format).
- Williams led the NFL and Bears history with seven fourth-quarter comebacks.
- Another sign of a “clutch gene,” Williams tied Detroit’s Jared Goff and Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers for the second-most fourth-quarter touchdown passes with nine, and he was sixth in fourth-quarter passing yards with 1,096.
- However, Williams had the most throwaways (which avoids sacks and interceptions) and topped the league with 109 “poor throws,” according to Stathead. He was second-worst to Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy (66.5%) in on-target percentage at 69.8% among quarterbacks who started at least eight games.
In his exit interview, Williams said his focus will be on accuracy, including making sure his footwork is consistent.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throws the ball in the first quarter of the NFC divisional playoff game against the Rams at Soldier Field on Jan. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
“We revamped the footwork a little bit last spring. He certainly got more comfortable with the concepts we were running over the course of the season,” Johnson said. “That’s something we can build upon.”
Poles said about Williams’ accuracy, “When you watched his college tape, you knew that some of those wild throws were part of his game.”
However, he was pleased with Williams’ pocket presence. His sacks dropped from 68 as a rookie to 24 as a sophomore.
An improved offensive line arguably gets most of the credit, but it was common to see Williams spin away or hop out of a pass rusher’s grasp at the last second.
“His ability to escape, I think that’s a rare trait that he has,” Poles said. “You saw that come alive.
“With that said, Ben hit it, there’s still a lot of work to be done. But I think he gets you excited about what he can become if he continues on the path he was on before.”
Overall, Johnson is happy with Williams’ growth.
“I’m really encouraged about the steps he took this year,” he said. “I’m Caleb Williams’ No. 1 believer.” |
