Ben Johnson doubles down on Caleb Williams, dismissing passing game woes. He emphasizes the QB's development and impressive progress, urging fans to look beyond the stats.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson wanted to make sure everyone knew where he stood on quarterback Caleb Williams at Tuesday's press conference.
Williams has put up good numbers this season, accounting for 2,722 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. However, like every quarterback, he has had some off games.
In the 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Williams completed 17 of his 36 passing attempts, for 154 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
In recent wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, Williams has also struggled with completions. Williams went 19-of-35 against the Steelers and 16-of-32 versus the Vikings.
At Monday's press conference, Johnson said the passing game was not where the team wanted it to be and that they were winning in spite of it. Johnson made sure to clear the air on Tuesday and stated that he has been very impressed with Williams in 2025.
"When I made that comment yesterday, it's easy to construe it as I'm not happy with the quarterback," Johnson said. "That's not the case whatsoever. He continues to get better each and every week. I couldn't be more pleased with how he played last week, and I know what the stats say, throw those out the window. He's doing a really good job managing the ball game, and that's step number one for the quarterback. He's gonna continue to get better. The process is really good right now, with how he approaches the week, the way he's taking the coaching, the way he's applying the coaching. I'm very pleased with that. I think we're gonna see him continue to ascend whether the stats tell the story or not."
While there have been some frustrating games for Williams and the passing attack, he has also had some great performances.
Even though he struggled with completions against the Steelers, he had 239 passing yards and three touchdowns. Arguably, his best performance of the year was in the 47-42 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He finished with 280 passing yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to tight end Colston Loveland with under 30 seconds to go.
His season high in passing yards came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, as he threw for 298 passing yards and four touchdowns.
It never gets easier in the NFL, however. The Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, who have allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards per game this season at 202.7.
Sunday's game will be a good test for Johnson and Williams. That game kicks off at 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.