MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears have produced this season yet another example of how good things can indeed come in the hypercompetitive, super-scrutinized NFL for those willing to wait.
The Minnesota Vikings are in the thick of their test of patience, just four games in with J.J. McCarthy.
After McCarthy carried the Vikings to a comeback victory in the opener at Chicago with a league-record three fourth quarter touchdowns by
a quarterback in his debut, he sprained his ankle during the following week. The pause button on his development had to be pushed for five more games, after knee surgery kept him out of his entire rookie year.
McCarthy's latest return has, predictably, been up and down. He'll aim to stay unbeaten against NFC North opponents when the Vikings (4-5) host the Bears (6-3) on Sunday.
“The magnitude of every single game in the NFL, all the intense attention on every single week, it’s a lot. Young guys can get wrapped up in that emotional rollercoaster, and I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t at some points in this year,” said McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft. “It’s just all about staying focused on the things in front of you."
The Vikings poured free agent money into the offensive and defensive lines with the belief coach Kevin O'Connell and his staff could bring McCarthy along on the fly and still field a contender.
His latest setback, combined with other early injuries to key players and some unexpected struggles at other positions, complicated the plan. McCarthy has seven turnovers in four games with a 65.8 passer rating that ranks second-worst in the NFL among the 46 quarterbacks in the league who've started at least one game.
“The standard I have for myself is the same as what the team has for them," McCarthy said. "Yes, we’ve got to understand there’s a lot of growth in my development personally, but I’m doing whatever I can to make sure it’s a championship-worthy performance week in and week out.”
Williams was enamored with the idea, however far-fetched it was considering where the Vikings were on the draft board last year, of playing for O'Connell. His father was even quoted in a book about NFL quarterbacks published earlier this year expressing strong negative opinions about Chicago's long history of struggling passers, a narrative Williams tried to dispel by emphasizing his desire to be a part of the solution once it became clear the Bears would draft him first overall.
After a mostly rocky rookie season, Ben Johnson came along. Having burnished his resume as the offensive coordinator for a high-scoring division foe in Detroit, Johnson has clearly had a positive influence. Williams has only four turnovers and six wins in nine games.
Though the six teams the Bears beat have a combined record of 15-41-1, they've enjoyed four fourth quarter comeback wins. Johnson has favored the run in his play calling to help keep the pressure off his young passer, but in cases when the Bears have been behind and Williams has needed to repeatedly drop back and let the ball rip, he has clearly begun to develop a rhythm in the pocket.
“There probably is just a little bit of, ‘OK, this is my wheelhouse. I know we’re going to throw it and the defense knows we’re going to throw it, and yet I can go ahead and make a play,’" Johnson said.
Even better for the Bears, Williams has played in every game, only yielding a handful of mop-up snaps to backup Tyson Bagent late in blowouts.
“One of the most important things to being an athlete, to trying to be a star in this league, is actually being able to be out there,” said Williams, who's on pace to be the first 4,000-yard passer in franchise history. “I take a lot of pride in many different avenues of recovery so that I can be ready for my guys.”
After keeping the ball six times for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings in the opener, Williams had downshifted his running game until recently. He had 63 yards and a score last week on eight attempts.
“Caleb Williams is maybe the slipperiest quarterback out there right now," said Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman, who missed four games with a hamstring strain from chasing Williams in the opener. “We’re saying here he’s almost Houdini-like, what he’s able to do, how he’s able to extend plays and get out of the pocket.”
After the Vikings offense took eight false start penalties last week in the loss to Baltimore, the most in the NFL by a home team in 16 years, McCarthy and his teammates spent extra time refining the cadence of his pre-snap calls in attempt to get everyone back in sync.
“We identified some areas where we can have a little bit more poise to the communication, and that’s not just the quarterback,” O'Connell said. “It’s the huddle. It’s the dynamic of a play call. It’s the dynamic of when we're motioning or we're trying to do some things for schematic reasons, where the emphasis on the cadence is going to be.”
Released by both Houston and Baltimore this season, Bears cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson has settled in quickly with three sacks in two games and a veteran presence for a secondary missing two-time Pro Bowl pick Jaylon Johnson and another regular cornerback, Kyler Gordon, to injuries.
Gardner-Johnson has 18 interceptions and seven sacks in seven seasons while appearing in games for five different teams. He also had a pattern of costly unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties. Gardner-Johnson played his first three seasons in New Orleans, coached by current Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. With Detroit, Johnson was the offensive coordinator.
“People got their own agenda or messaging. They don’t know me. I’ve been in a lot of buildings. People haven’t gotten to know me," Gardner-Johnson said. “Being here, I’m comfortable. They’re comfortable.”
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