Bears' Caleb Williams fails to balance Superman plays with Clark Kent throws

The Caleb conundrum was on full display Monday night at Soldier Field.

Too much Superman. Too little Clark Kent.

Of course Chicago Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams isn't totally to blame for the gut-punch, 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But he certainly played a role in blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.

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Williams' spectacular plays helped Chicago build the lead, but his inability to make simple, accurate throws contributed to losing it.

Bears' head coach Ben Johnson recognized this as a problem, even mentioning Williams' "Superman" tendencies back in training camp.

"What has made him such a special player over the course of his career and college and the pros so far, is that ability to create," Johnson said. "That's the secret sauce. We're not going to ask him to be Superman all the time, but when those times present, that's where he needs to come through for us."

But Monday night that "secret sauce" - not enough mild-mannered Clark Kent - got out of whack.

Caleb was dazzling early on. He completed his first 10 passes, including a rocket down the sideline to Rome Odunze. He made something out of nothing with his athleticism, scrambling for a touchdown to cap a perfect first drive. He flashed his touch, his arm strength and consistently avoided sacks, even once performing a 360-degree spin to avoid a Vikings' tackler.

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But when it came to time to ditch the "S" and put on the black glasses, Williams appeared dumbfounded. He missed open receivers, some embarrassingly bad. He sloppily stepped out of bounds before throwing a pass. He wildly overthrew a wide-open D.J. Moore for what should have been a walk-in touchdown.

After the first drive his accuracy plummeted, and with it went the Bears' lead.

Williams has mastered the spectacular. But until he perfects the simple, Bears fans will continue to suffer head-scratching games.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) rushes for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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