Manti Te'o breaks down the Bears MNF win over the Commanders | Toyota Talks
Caleb Williams had his fun.
The Chicago Bears quarterback was answering questions about Monday Night Football, and gave a grin.
His Tuesday post on Instagram was aimed at Troy Aikman after the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback was overly critical of Williams during the Bears’ 25-24 win over the Washington Commanders.
"It’s fun trolls. I was messing around," Williams said. "D’Andre made a great play. Obviously, he had some stuff to say about us or me. We came out victorious in the end. I made a little fun moment of it, that was about it."
It was a moment Williams was able to revel in, especially after plenty took note of the commentary around his play on Monday.
The backstory:
Bears fans all over social media took note of what Aikman was saying.
During Monday’s game, Aikman criticized Williams’ throws, including a toss to Olamide Zaccheaus that Zaccheaus dropped, and the 55-yard touchdown by D’Andre Swift where Swift took a short throw from Williams, shook a defender and went the distance.
That big play, which made the score 24-22 and helped set up the game-winning field goal by Jake Moody, was not lauded by Aikman.
"That’s why Swift was as open as he is," Aikman said of the play. "And then you make one guy miss. Now with his speed, he’s off to the races. Just luck on Chicago’s part."
The commentary was so critical of Williams and the Bears, head coach Ben Johnson was asked about it during his day-after press conference.
"Maybe I just had it on mute," Johnson said Tuesday. "Listen, you want respect in this league, you’ve got to go earn it. That's where we're at right now. We need to go earn that respect from not only the rest of the teams in the NFL, but everybody. That's where we are."
Usually, high-profile players like Williams meet with ESPN before Monday Night Football productions. Aikman and Williams were supposed to meet, but the two weren’t able to connect.
"I was here late and times didn't meet up, was lifting or whatever the case may have been," Williams said. "Then I tried to call him after that day that I was supposed to meet with him and didn't get through."
Williams and the Bears then won the game Monday. That led to a Tuesday post on Instagram that included photos of Williams during the game, kicker Jake Moody, who hit the game-winning kick Monday, and other images.
Williams, who threw for 252 yards, threw a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown, had some fun with the caption.
"Nations Cap good being back!
‘It was lucky’ -TA
‘Whooptie Doo’"
He got the last laugh in the moment. Especially with the Bears sitting at 3-2 heading into a home game against the 1-5 New Orleans Saints.
Commentators have their moments, and Williams acknowledged he can use moments like that to motivate him on Wednesday. Still, he noted that it’s not worth getting upset with how people perceive him.
"Fair or not, life isn't fair," Williams said. "People are going to say what they have to say. We win, we lose, people have stuff to say. It was lucky, it was not lucky, people have stuff to say. Have a bad game, have a good game, people have stuff to say. It doesn't matter. We are only worried about what's going on here within this building and with these guys."
What's next:
This wasn't Williams' goal. He blocks out noise, and has been his entire football career. But, the second-year quarterback is taking on a character of his own.
He'll get a chance to further that more against the New Orleans Saints at home Sunday, where he can win four games in a row. The last time the Bears accomplished that was in 2018.
"This is also the National Football League," Williams said. "Going into this with the right mindset is what we will have and what we will do. Understanding the opportunity, we have to be able to go out here execute the way we need to be able to come out four and two."
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