Bears head coach Ben Johnson sees Matthew Stafford's veteran savvy and fundamental soundness as key traits for Caleb Williams to adopt.
The Chicago Bears are facing one of the league's older quarterbacks, who is proving he's still got it.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is 37 years old and leads the NFL with 5,011 passing yards and 49 touchdowns, with his playoff stats factored in.
He recently helped his team beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in the Wild Card after being down on the scoreboard twice in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers got out to a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Rams answered with a touchdown pass to Kyren Williams. Carolina followed that up with a touchdown pass from Bryce Young to Jalen Coker to retake the lead 31-27.
Stafford iced the game with a beautiful throw to tight end Colby Parkinson.
At Wednesday's press conference, Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke about what parts of Stafford's game he wants Caleb Williams to emulate.
"Yeah, well, I mean, I think he's fundamentally sound, and so when you talk about the footwork, I think it starts there with him, but then as you talk about an experienced player that sees the field really well, he understands defenses, he knows how to manipulate defenses," Johnson said. "He's got a great feel for the gam,e and that translates into everything he does every single week."
While Stafford is putting up some insane numbers, it's worth noting that Williams is a special kind of player as well. Just take a look at the throw he had late in the Green Bay Packers game on Saturday night on fourth down to Rome Odunze with the game on the line.
Williams was on hit on the run and threw a pass up field to Odunze for a crucial conversion.
Even Rams' head coach Sean McVay knows how difficult it can be to prepare for a true dual-threat quarterback like Williams. The Bears quarterback has 4,303 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, including the playoffs. Williams has also run for 408 rushing yards and one touchdown.
It's still very early into Williams' NFL career, but if he can model his game after that of the three-time Pro Bowler, he'll be in good shape.
Sunday's game will be the first time since the 2024 season that Stafford and Williams will face off on the gridiron. The Bears won that matchup 24-18 at Soldier Field.
Kickoff from the Divisional Round is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC.