Since the moment Ben Johnson was introduced as the newest head coach of the Chicago Bears — January 22 of this year, to be exact — the team’s fans have been waiting to see what they saw on Sunday.
The best version of quarterback Caleb Williams.
Drafted by the Bears with the first-overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams’ first season in the NFL was uneven at best. While there were flashes of promise, he finished the year having completed 62.5% of his passes for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns, along with 6 interceptions.
He was also sacked a league-high 68 times.
But with the hiring of Johnson, the Bears entrusted the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator with getting the best out of their young quarterback. During his time in the Motor City, Johnson turned Jared Goff from a potential bridge quarterback included in the Matthew Stafford trade into an MVP candidate.
Could he do something similar for Williams?
Sunday’s 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys was, statistically speaking, the best game of Williams’ career. He completed 19-of-28 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns (matching his previous single-game high) while posting an Adjusted Yards per Attempt of 13.50, the best of his career.
For believers in NFL Quarterback Rating, Williams’ mark of 142.6 against the Cowboys was also a career-best.
One play in particular stands out from the win over Dallas: A dramatic flea-flicker touchdown pass to Luther Burden with just 4:10 left in the first half to stake the Bears to a 14-3 lead. Why does this moment stand out?
Because of the pitch back to Williams from D’Andre Swift.
Here is the play in question:
The play works to perfection, even with the high pitch to Williams. The quarterback must have felt like this ball was in the air forever, which only increased the level of difficulty in executing the throw downfield.
But rather than panic and rush the throw, Williams remained calm before delivering a strike to Burden for the rookie wide receiver’s first career touchdown.
The play — and the pitch — need to be seen from a few different angles to appreciate the level of difficulty:
In the above screenshot, you can see just how high this toss was, as Williams appears to be staring straight up, waiting for the football to come down to him.
When it did, he finished the play to perfection.
And helped give Bears fans what they were waiting months to see.
