Caleb Williams Returns To USC Heisman Form In NFL Leading Stat

Three game into the season, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has played some of the best football of his career. He's returned to the form that saw him win a Heisman Trophy at USC while refining small details to improve his game as well.

Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has faced as much adversity as any young quarterback in recent memory. Less than three years ago, the former USC Trojans star was getting lofty comparisons to players like Super Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes and even had the likes of coach Sean Payton, who was in the media at the time, suggesting he may be so good that teams fight to reconstruct the way the draft system currently operates to have a chance at selecting him.

While no player can live up to those expectations regardless, being thrust into a dysfunctional organization and having three head coaches and four offensive coordinators in your first 20 games will make the climb even more difficult. On Sunday, Williams had one of the best games of his career in a win against the Dallas Cowboys with a 19/28, 298 passing yards, and four passing touchdowns performance. Williams now leads the NFL in passing touchdowns with seven and only has one interception. 

Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson talks with quarterback Caleb Williams (18) against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Williams certainly has his flaws to iron out, but he’s taking care of the ball at a high level, and under coach Ben Johnson, he seems to have regained the confidence and command he possessed at USC that helped him lead the Trojans back to the national spotlight and that earned him a Heisman Trophy under coach Lincoln Riley. To start the season, Williams looks much closer to what was expected of him coming out of college.

Riley is known as a quarterback savant, and Williams flashed while playing at both Oklahoma and USC with Riley. Williams is back with another offensive coach in Ben Johnson, and the pairing might be another special one for the young quarterback.

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What Williams & Johnson Said:

"To be able to have this win, it's important to have this moment with his family, with us as players, but also for this organization and the momentum that we're trying to catch. The train is going. It's starting. We've just got to keep going and be consistent and stay on the rails,” Williams said to ChicagoBears.com

"I thought [Williams] was really good," Johnson said. "And the thing that you don't see on the stat sheet is he's getting a lot more comfortable calling those plays in the huddle. We're able to get out of the huddle a little bit faster and we're able to get on the line and operate a little bit cleaner as well. I was proud of him for that."

"It starts in practice and how consistent we were in practice," Williams added. "The preparation, when we're actually between the white lines, and going there and competing versus each other and having these tough practices, it builds the confidence for us to be able to go out here and have a game like we had today."

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Nov 18, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) scrambles during the third quarter against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

The poise and command that Williams showcased during his time as a Trojan are as much of a reason why teams and talent evaluators fell in love with him as a prospect as his arm talent and natural ability. Williams is slowly but surely building back into the player while also showcasing improvements in playing on time and within the structure of the offense, which was one of his greatest areas for improvement. 

Williams' career stats don’t tell the full story, but they’re much better than you realize. In 20 games, Williams is completing 62.6 percent of his passes, has 4,256 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions.

If Williams can pair these improvements with added intermediate accuracy while continuing to play with the same magic from those legendary nights in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the wins will fall into place for the Chicago faithful.