Bear Digest

Making the comp between Joe Montana's famed pass and Caleb Williams' TD

Caleb Williams' throw to DJ Moore for a 22-yard TD evoked video comparisons to "The Catch" by the 49ers' Dwight Clark, but was it really that good?
Gene Chamberlain|
DJ Moore makes the Bears' version of "the catch," as a creative video showed.
DJ Moore makes the Bears' version of "the catch," as a creative video showed. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The popular internet video of Caleb Williams' touchdown pass to DJ Moore side by side with Dwight Clark's famed TD catch of Joe Montana's NFC championship game pass definitely caught the attention of the Bears' QB.

It should when you're being displayed right alongside one of the most famous pass plays in football history, one simply known as "The Catch."

“It popped up this morning," Williams said Tuesday at Halas Hall. "We obviously had a little bit later start this morning, so I was able to lay in my bed for another 30 minutes or so.

"It popped up on social media when I was looking at it. It was a cool comparison. Obviously, a little bit different situation and things like that. But a cool comparison video.”

Williams' pass to Moore was much more difficult to accomplish than Montana's for several reasons, although ultimately it can't really be compared.

Montana's pass represented much more than a TD pass at the back of the end zone against a weak team in Week 15 of the regular season. It marked the start of a new dynasty in the 1980s and downfall of Tom Landry's America's Team.

The reason Williams' looked more impressive in and of itself was:

1. Williams' was a 22-yard touchdown throw but actually came from twice as far away as Montana's. Williams threw from the 28. Montana's was only a 6-yarder thrown from about the 14.

2. Moore had to snare it from between two defenders' arms on a ball thrown basically to a tiny open spot in the coverage.

3. Clark had beaten one defender to get where Montana threw it but there was no forest of arms around where the ball eventually found his hands.

Of course, there are probably numerous throws every year in the NFL better than the Montana pass, but none with so much pressure. The only thing riding on Montana's throw was a berth against the Bengals at the Silverdome in Super Bowl XVI.

Oh, and NFL history.

“When I let the ball go, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be a bad play," Williams said. "If anything, the bad play is an incompletion. I think I've proven that over my time so far being here and playing football in college.

"Like I said, when I let it go, I think it's a good ball. At the least it's going to be incomplete.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson reacted to the play like any coach who sees his quarterback throwing back across the field slightly, into an end zone crowd and to a receiver who he can only anticipate will get there.

"There's not a whole lot to say on that," Johnson said. "On the sideline, I was probably vocal on the headset saying, 'No, no, no. Yeah!'

"But those are the good ones. I think that's what the really good quarterbacks do. He was able to find his guy and gave him a good ball. I really feel like it was us or nobody. It was DJ's ball to go get. Had we not been able to connect, I think it would have been incomplete. I think Caleb was smart with it. I think that's what he does a great job of. Really, it's been for a year and a half now, since he's been in the NFL, he does a great job making sure that he doesn't turn that ball over."

Williams made his 1,000th NFL throw in the game and has only 12 career interceptions. It's the fewest for that many throws in NFL history.

Taking care of the ball has been a source of pride for Williams.

"I haven't had to say a whole lot," Johnson said. "He's done that throughout training camp and up to this point in the season. I just think that's who he is.

"He understands where he feels like he can fit a ball into. He has a unique skillset, just in terms of how hard he can throw that football. Some windows that may not seem open to the rest of us, they are still open to him because he's able to get that ball in there. He has a good feel for that. He's been playing this sport for a long time. It's what the Good Lord has called him to do. He's kind of grown up that way."

Now, if Williams can only duplicate that type of play with the entire season on the line, even the entire decade like Montana did, then the Bears will have something more than an amusing video.

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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.