Bear Digest

Caleb Williams nears point under Ben Johnson where Jared Goff soared

While Bears nation panics over a few shaky Caleb Williams games in his first year working with Ben Johnson, they need to realize how Jared Goff started under Johnson.
Gene Chamberlain|
Jared Goff gives Caleb Williams a hug after Detroit's 34-17 win at Soldier Field last season.
Jared Goff gives Caleb Williams a hug after Detroit's 34-17 win at Soldier Field last season. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It's easy to look at what Caleb Williams has done so far this season and conclude he's yet another failed Bears quarterback.

It's also easy to look at what he's done and conclude he's on his way to success.

There seems to be national debate with every form of analyst chiming in on it, from the social media types right up to the king waffler himself, Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports.

The thought is Williams had three or four poor games in succession now and after 24 starts more was expected.

Then again, he's only had seven starts under Ben Johnson and there is reason to believe he is improving and can still improve drastically this season.

Johnson made his weekly appearance with the team's radio voice, Jeff Joniak. And while people like Cowherd were jumping off the Williams bandwagon for good—or at least until he has another good game—Johnson actually thought his QB played better Sunday than in the previous three games.


Williams just didn't outperform Tyler Huntley or the Ravens defense.

"He played better this game than I think he had the previous two," Johnson told Joniak. "When you look at it, all 60 minutes, and I’m not saying it’s perfect. I actually came away from watching the tape this morning, encouraged that we took a step in the right direction here this week.”

Boo hoo they lost a game

That one game should not be an indictment of a career, just one Sunday on the road in the NFL against a desperate team that has a roster so good they've been in the playoffs six of the last seven years.

The Bears offense failed to hit 21 points for the first time this season, but the same defense they faced did hold the Rams to 17 the previous week.

This is hardly Williams' worst stretch of games.

He has a poor passer rating of only 77.8 in these four with two TDs and three interceptions, a completion percentage of 60.8% and a healthy 7.1 yards per attempt.

In the first four games of his career under coordinator Shane Waldron, Williams was at a 72.0 rating with three TDs, four interceptions, 61.7% completions and only 5.6 yards an attempt

But that was hardly his worst stretch of the first season. He had a stretch at midseason in 2024 much like he is having now. It was three games long in Weeks 7-9 with a passer rating of 72.2, 56.3% completions and 5.5 yards an attempt.  This came against Washington and two weaker teams, the Cardinals and Patriots. It followed three straight games when his passer rating had been in the 100s.

It's as Johnson and before him Matt Eberflus often said, improvement or development is not linear.

What is disappointing about his last four games—or the three before the loss to Baltimore if you believe Johnson's improved theory—is Williams has the different head coach, the genius offensive mind, and you would think the impact would be great enough so he wouldn't show regression.

It doesn't work that way, though. Remember, development is not linear.

Ben Johnson and Jared Goff

When Johnson took over as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, there was not instant immediate improvement in veteran QB Jared Goff.

Goff had been in Detroit for a year when Anthony Lynn started out as coordinator.

Goff's first season then lasted 14 games due to injury, he completed 67.2%, had 19 TDs, eight interceptions, 3,245 yards, only 6.6 yards an attempt and a 91.5 passer rating.

When Johnson took over as coordinator, his statistics did not initially leap off the page.

In his first eight starts under Johnson, Goff's team was 2-6 and he completed only 62.9% for 2,041 yards with 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a solid 7.4 yards per attempt but only a 91.8 passer rating. It was almost the same passer rating as in 2021.

It was Goff's ninth start under Johnson when the magic really took hold. Williams is about to make his eighth start under Johnson against Cincinnati.

From the ninth start on, Goff completed 67%, an improvement of 4.1%. He threw 15 TDs without an interception, was at an extremely healthy 7.7 yards an attempt and had a phenomenal passer rating of 105.9. He threw for 2,397 yards in those final nine games

It's been consistency since then, but there have been slight dips. It's just that the dips are brief, only a game or two, and no passer ratings the rest of that season below 83.0.

In 2023, Goff had a four-game stretch with an 84.0 passer rating but nothing severe. He had a terrible game in the cold at Soldier Field in a 28-13 loss with a 54.6 rating, but bounced back immediately.

Fewer and shorter dips

It's often that way with QBs. People tend to forget Joe Burrow had a four-game stretch in the middle of his second season with an 80.4 passer rating but then rocketed to finish the regular season and into the 2021 playoffs.

Of course Williams is not Goff. It was the 92nd start of Goff's career when he took off within Johnson's system. He started playing in the Johnson offense in his 84th game. Williams is making start No. 25 Sunday. Expecting him to make the same kind of leap Goff did starting in his ninth game working under Johnson would not be fair.

However, the overall improvement in play from Year 1 to Year 2 for Williams, the fact his lows have not been as severe as they were in his first year and that they have actually managed to find ways to win when he did struggle all can point to better things ahead for the second-year Bears QB.

On the other hand, the eventual success Goff had under Johnson does provide a guideline to watch as Williams goes through these next 10 games and then on into 2026. It's something to point at but many can use it against him as well.

If Williams makes a drastic leap like Goff did near the middle of his second year under Johnson, Chicago will be jublilant.

If not, the interesting thing to watch will be whether Johnson is fully invested and patient or wants to bring in an insurance policy in case Year 2 in the offense doesn't go quite the way they want.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.