Bear Digest

Future HOFer says more play action is key to unlock Bears QB Caleb Williams

Expect a much higher percentage with Bears HC Ben Johnson calling the plays
Kirsten Tanis|
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks to throw a pass against the San Francisco 49ers
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks to throw a pass against the San Francisco 49ers | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

When Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson accepted the job, he made no secret that a big reason why was the opportunity to coach quarterback Caleb Williams.

Johnson believes in Williams' unique talent and vast potential despite leading the team to a disappointing 5-12 record in his first year.

Williams threw for a franchise rookie record 3,541 yards, twenty touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. This was in spite of playing for two head coaches, two offensive coordinators and behind an offensive line that gave up 68 sacks.

Certainly, Williams had his share of struggles, which contributed to the disjointed, inefficient offense. He often held the ball too long, which resulted in a 28.2% pressure-to-sack ratio, the second-highest among starting quarterbacks (minimum 20% of snaps per PFF). He also had poor accuracy on deeper throws.

Yet, many analysts share Johnson's positive outlook for Williams, noting that the design of the offense didn't play to the strengths of Williams nor his playmakers. They've also suggested changes which could make a big difference in elevating Williams' production in 2025.

Increasing play action passing is a huge opportunity for the Bears

On a recent episode of Up & Adams, future Hall of Fame and former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly discussed why he's optimistic that Williams will make a big leap in year two.

After praising the significant upgrades to the Bears' offensive line and how loaded they are at the skill positions, Kuechly made his case why more play-action passing should be a big focus in Chicago.

"I think what changes for Caleb Williams that's going to be super helpful is everybody talks about how do you take care of a young quarterback, and a lot of it has to do with the passing game, right?"

"And the amount of play-action pass that Detroit used last year with Jared Goff was, you know, top five in the league. And then you look on the contrary with the Bears, not a ton of play action pass from them last year."

Kuechly continues:

"And the play action pass does a lot of things. It provides easy windows for the quarterback to throw the ball. There's easy built-in checkdowns, guys in the flat, easy completions. It takes a lot of pressure off the offensive line because instead of playing pure drop back pass where these defense linemen they can pin their ears back and rush, they're taking a play action run fake, they're moving sideways, and instead of moving vertically, they're sideways and then vertical off the play action pass."

"And I've just got to imagine that Caleb's going to be more comfortable going into year two. And I think one of the most difficult things as a defender is short completions and tackling guys in space. And you've got two really good guys, one of them, you know, Luther Burden coming out of college. A big physical receiver that's kind of built a little bit like a running back. And then my guy DJ Moore, when the ball is in his hand, you never know what's going to happen."

2024 Bears offense used play action at one of lowest rates in the NFL

Kuechly hit the nail right on the head.

In 2024:

  • Bears' playcallers used play action on only 17.4% of Williams' snaps. That ranked forty-first of forty-four quarterbacks.
  • Johnson called it twice as often in Detroit. Goff used play action on 35.7% of his dropbacks, ranking second of forty-four quarterbacks.

Given his high usage and success with it in the Lions' explosive offense, it shouldn't be a surprise that one of the first things Johnson disclosed about the new Bears offense back in April was the desire to increase play action.

Johnson stated his rationale, which mirrors some of the benefits Kuechley shared.

"I'm more prone to the play action game underneath there, because I do think the longer action ─ the longer fake ─ does tend to hold the second level for little bit longer. And that's where you get your chunks and your shots behind them."

That's also why Johnson made it a priority to increase Williams' reps and comfort level taking snaps under center during OTAs to facilitate more play action. This will continue during training camp.

It's important to point out that Johnson is not only increasing play action usage because it's a cornerstone of his offense.

He's not only increasing it because it can be helpful to young quarterbacks, including Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. They used play action on 30.1% and 28.0% of snaps respectively last season in their sixth and tenth-highest scoring offenses.

He's also increasing Williams' play action usage because his 2024 results were better when using it.

It's a mystery why Bears' playcallers didn't use play action more in 2024

Jacob Gibbs, writer for CBS Sports' Fantasy Football Today newsletter, recently shared the side-by-side comparison of key metrics for Williams with and without play action in 2024.

There was a significant increase in first-read target rate, highly accurate throw rate, catchable ball rate, and a reduction in off-target rate.

This noticeable difference in Williams' success when using play action didn't emerge as the season went on. Even early in the season, there were games where he had better stats on play action plays.

It makes you wonder why it took Ben Johnson arriving to make it a priority in the Bears' offense.

Especially when Williams struggled with accuracy. The significant improvement in that alone on his play action passes should have been reason enough to use it a lot more in 2024.

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Kirsten Tanis
KIRSTEN TANIS

Kirsten Tanis has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2023 with balanced, insightful and well-researched analysis. A lifelong avid sports fan, she is most passionate about NFL Football and believes flea flickers are underrated. She lives with her husband, 3 kids and cats.

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