There’s been a lot of optimism around Caleb Williams this year, and for good reason. While it’s still a small sample size of just three games, Williams has continued to ascend and grow more confident in his second year in Ben Johnson’s system.
This past Sunday, Williams completed 83.3% of his passes against the Atlanta Falcons, setting a new career high and the highest completion percentage by a Bears quarterback with at least 30 pass attempts in franchise history. Williams finished 30-of-36 for 305
yards, one touchdown, and a 111.2 passer rating.
Williams’ performance is part of a larger trend through the first three games. He currently leads the league with a 72.5% completion rate, showing continued progress in his second season under Johnson.
“I said that I could do it, and we’re going to keep figuring out how to keep getting to that,” Williams said.
Along with improving his accuracy, Williams is focused on developing a stronger command of the offense and building trust in himself, the playbook, and his playmakers.
“I’ve said multiple times, it’s building confidence in myself, building confidence in the playbook, building confidence in my wide-receivers and where they’ll be, even if I can’t see them. It’s just putting the ball where they will be and then trusting them.”
Ben Johnson has also been impressed with Williams’ performance, particularly given the time he missed with his injury.
“He came in my office early on in the week, alluding to, ‘Man, I want to push this thing and see where we’re at.’ He did a great job downloading the game plan, and sure enough, he was finding some open guys and delivering good footballs,” Johnson said. “Proud of him.”
Johnson’s comments highlight how quickly Williams was able to get back into rhythm after missing time with his injury. Despite the layoff, Williams picked up the game plan and delivered an efficient performance against Atlanta.
Despite the early progress, Williams knows there is still room to improve with a long season ahead.
“We gotta keep executing, we gotta keep getting better, I gotta keep getting better,” Williams said. “From there, we’ll see how it ends at the end of the year.”
