Caleb Williams had his first bad game this season last Sunday. Thankfully, it didn’t matter. A terrific performance by the defense (4 takeaways) and the running game (222 yards) made it irrelevant. Still, many Chicago Bears fans were left nervous about the state of Williams’ development. He still hasn’t taken that genuine big step towards becoming a legitimate franchise quarterback. His completion percentage is actually down from last year, even though his passer rating has improved.
Meanwhile, Drake Maye is having a hell of a run lately in New England. People are struggling to understand why Williams isn’t progressing as quickly. What is the problem? Jeff Hughes of Sports Mockery reached out to his sources with this question. The answer he got back was fairly simple. Coaches believe the primary issue with Williams is processing. Ben Johnson’s offense can be unforgiving in terms of size and scope. It demands a lot of the quarterback mentally. Williams is still learning to cope with the massive flow of information, and it has led to him not always taking the easier throws when available.
Processing. This offense asks the quarterback to dissect a lot, quickly. When that processing improves he’ll start taking the easier throws. https://t.co/YkSg0LJ4mu
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) October 21, 2025
Caleb Williams was never going to master this offense immediately.
Jared Goff was a six-year veteran when Johnson took over in 2022 with Detroit and even he needed half a season before things started clicking. Caleb Williams was never developed to play a pro-style offense in college. Then he was subjected to the abomination that was Shane Waldron last year. Johnson has basically had to rebuild this quarterback from the ground up. That takes time. It shouldn’t be surprising that Williams occasionally reverts to some of his old habits.
People have mentioned Josh Allen as a comparison for his developmental progression. That may seem crazy since Allen is now a superstar. However, people forget how long it took for him to get there. Allen’s second season was rife with ups and downs. He completed less than 59% of his passes and barely cracked 3,000 yards and was a non-factor in Buffalo’s playoff loss to Houston. The Bills didn’t care. They saw growth along the way and stayed the course.
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Chicago should absolutely do the same with Williams.