Getty
Quarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Caleb Williams had a bumpy rookie campaign after the Chicago Bears drafted him No. 1, and the quarterback has been keeping receipts.
Williams appeared with fellow NFL player Maxx Crosby on the Tuesday, February 17 edition of “The Rush Podcast,” which the Las Vegas Raiders pass-rusher hosts when he’s not otherwise occupied terrorizing players like Williams in opposing backfields.
The two professional football stars covered several topics, including Williams’ first year in Chicago under then head coach Matt Eberflus.
“Like, even my first year — didn’t actually have a bad year,” Williams contended. “But it was a lot of heat and classified as a bad year because we didn’t win.”
“The heat is a little bit more than what you would think it would be,” he continued.
Williams finished his rookie campaign with 3,541 yards, 20 TDs and six INTs on 62.5 percent passing. He also rushed the football for 489 yards but took a league-leading 68 sacks. The Bears went 5-12 and finished dead last in the NFC North Division.
Ben Johnson’s Arrival in Chicago Helped Reshape Trajectory of Caleb Williams’ Career
Press Taylor
GettyHead coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
Enter offensive mastermind Ben Johnson after three years as a coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
Johnson overhauled the offensive line, drafted three critical skill position players in tight end Colston Loveland, slot receiver Luther Burden III and running back Kyle Monangai, and then implemented a run scheme that ultimately became the No. 3 rushing attack in the league at 144.5 yards per game. Chicago finished the year with the No. 6 offense overall.
Williams, by virtue of making better decisions and with the help of a revamped offensive front, cut his sacks by 44 down to 24 total across 17 games. His confidence grew and his talent shined brightly in the biggest of moments, as he led the Bears to seven comebacks in games during which they trailed late in the fourth quarter.
Chicago went from worst to first in the North, winning the division for the first time since 2018 and earning the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Then over Wildcard Weekend, Williams captained his eighth fourth-quarter comeback of the campaign, this time against the rival Green Bay Packers after Chicago trailed by 18 points at Soldier Field heading into the locker room at the half.
Williams made an unconscious throw off his back foot near the 50-yard line, completing a touchdown to tight end Cole Kmet to force overtime against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round, but couldn’t conjure the magic to put his team into the NFC title game.
Caleb Williams Displayed Huge Confidence, Found Success During Biggest Moments of Second NFL Campaign
Caleb Williams
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Williams’ still has serious issues, namely consistency with regards to standard plays he should be able to make. This fault reflected in his completion percentage in 2025 (58.1 percent), which was unacceptably low.
But with another year of NFL experience and a full season of Johnson’s system under his belt, there is reason for Bears fans to be optimistic that the 24-year-old QB will continue to improve.
And the entire sport has already witnessed the unicorn-like abilities of Williams to make plays off-script and out of structure with both his legs and his arm, often combining those skill sets to do spectacular things of which few quarterbacks in history have ever been capable.
Williams finished last season with a Chicago record of 3,942 passing yards along with 27 TDs and seven INTs. He also rushed for 388 yards and three scores on the way to an 11-6 campaign before going 1-1 in the postseason.
“The biggest thing in the NFL, and I can go from my first year to this year, is the confidence in yourself and the work, and how far that goes for NFL players,” Williams told Crosby. “I think confidence is one of the biggest things to be able to go out there and play well.”