Bear Digest

Caleb Williams admits 'frustration' at bad passes in Week 1 loss to Vikings

After a splendid start, Chicago Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams lost his accuracy in the second half against the Minnesota Vikings.
Richie Whitt|
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) drops back to pass against the Minnesota Vikings
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) drops back to pass against the Minnesota Vikings | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears' head coach Ben Johnson has been open about his goals for quarterback Caleb Williams this season: 4,000 yards passing on 70-percent completions.

Gulp. So far, so ... bad.

In Week 1 Williams' scintillating start deteriorated in the second half. He finished with only 210 yards passing and 60-percent completions. Which means at that pace he'd fall 500 yards aand 10 percent below Johnson's expectations.

MORE: Bears say Caleb Williams is putting in the work but will it pay off?

Of course, if the trends continue from the ugly 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Williams might be traded and Johnson run out of town before he fully unpacks.

Williams completed his first 10 passes and ran for a touchdown early. But in the second half he completed only 42 percent and wound up as one of the NFL's least accurate quarterbacks in Week 1. He badly overthrew a wide-open D.J. Moore for what should have been a walk-in touchdown.

Bears fans, turns out, aren't the only ones disappointed by their quarterback's 2025 debut.

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"You did everything up to that point right, and then you miss a pass," Williams said this week. "And it's frustrating. That's something that we practice on, something that we get after and something that I'm going to keep getting after, keep correcting. Passes that I feel that I typically don't miss in those moments and situations, especially with some of the passes being what they were and how wide open. You miss and you move on. You correct and you find ways to get better."

Nobody's pushing the panic button yet. But if the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions Sunday, history suggests it will be time to at least locate it.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts against the Vikings
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts against the Vikings | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.

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