The Chicago Bears are heading into a pivotal season with second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, and the pressure is certainly mounting for him to live up to the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick.
The expectations are especially high given that some of his peers, like Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, both reached the playoffs during their rookie seasons.
The biggest decision for the Bears this offseason was the hiring of head coach Ben Johnson, who arrives from Detroit after leading the Lions to one of the best offenses in football last season.
Johnson will play a crucial role in Williams’ success and is already focused on correcting key flaws in his game. This week, Johnson revealed some major changes he expects from Williams and the team, particularly around their body language on the field and sidelines — an area Williams has struggled with dating back to his college days at Oklahoma and USC.
“Early in the process we sat down and watched some tape from a year ago and we talked it through,” Johnson said. “It’s like, ‘Do we really want to? Is this what we want to look like or not?’ We come to an agreement, ‘No, it’s not, OK, we learn from it, we move on to the next thing.’ Body language is a huge thing. Demeanor. We don’t want to be a palms-up team where we’re questioning everything. No, no, no — to me that’s a little bit of a sign of weakness. We don’t want to exhibit that from anybody on the team.”
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18)
Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
Chicago has built a roster around Caleb Williams designed for success, and now it’s all about translating that potential onto the field.
Last season, the Bears started strong at 4-2, but after a heartbreaking loss to the Commanders—where Jayden Daniels hit a game-winning Hail Mary as time expired—the team’s season took a nosedive. They managed to win just one game the rest of the year, finishing 5-12 overall and last in the NFC North.