Ben Johnson Second Guesses Caleb Williams' Decision in Bears' Preseason Week 2 Loss

We got a nice little surprise in the Chicago Bears preseason Week 2 game, as head coach Ben Johnson decided to play quarterback Caleb Williams and most of the starters.

Williams and the ones on offense saw just one drive, which went for eight plays and 33 yards before ending with a field goal. But Williams and Co. could have had more if not for a miss from Williams on a throw to tight end Colston Loveland.

In all, Williams finished 2-of-5 for 33 yards, which wasn't terrible but wasn't great, either, especially considering the Cincinnati Bengals didn't deploy their starters on Saturday night.

When asked about Williams' missed throw to Loveland, which was simply too high, Johnson admitted he would have preffered his quarterback target a different pass-catcher.

"I probably would go somewhere else with the ball on that one," Johnson told reporters after the game.

Williams was then asked about Johnson's thoughts on the decision and went into detail about why he made the throw.

"Just saw Colston running down the seam. That's not typically our read on that play when they get into that coverage... They ended up messing up on defense, tried to find the open guy and just missed," Williams explained.

It's not a big deal that Johnson disagreed with Williams' decision on that play. We'd also like to point out it wasn't an awful decision, as Loveland was open enough to reel in what would have been a big play, Williams just missed him.

The biggest issue is that accuracy has been a major point of emphasis for the third-year quarterback and he didn't show improved precision on that throw.

Who else could Williams have targeted?

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) stands on the sidelines during the second half in the game against the Cincinnati at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Thanks to left tackle Braxton Jones' penalty, the Bears were behind the eight ball with a first-and-20 situation.

Nicholas Moreano of Bears Roundtable did a great breakdown of the play and showed how Williams had both Rome Odunze and Kaden Davis open for a shorter completion.

What went wrong on Caleb Williams' incomplete pass to Colston Loveland on first-and-20?

I break that down in this video using quotes from Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Williams.

Make sure to turn the volume UP! pic.twitter.com/O44dbP2uxN
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 23, 2026

We know Williams likes to be aggressive and look for the chunk plays, which is understandable in this situation because of the penalty setting Chicago back on first down.

However, it's pretty clear Johnson would have preferred Williams go with the typical read in that situation and settle for the easier completion and utilize multiple downs to try and get the lost yardage back instead of trying to make it all up on one play.

If Williams hits Loveland, he looks like a genius. But he didn't, which opened him up for the second guessing from Johnson.

This is all part of the learning process for Williams and we're sure Johnson is going to go over this play with his quarterback when they break down the film this week. Williams needs to learn he doesn't have to get every lost yard back on one throw when there's still more downs to get those yards back.

Consider this another learning lesson for the young signal-caller.

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