Caleb Williams rocks Ben Johnson’s high school jersey to season finale

Williams gave his head coach some props as the Bears face Johnson’s old team, the Detroit Lions.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) high fives fans after their game Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 22-16 in overtime. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In case you had any doubts about how much Caleb Williams rides with first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson, Sunday’s season finale should answer that question for you.

The Bears’ starting quarterback rolled up to Soldier Field for the team’s Week 18 matchup with the Detroit Lions wearing a special jersey: Johnson’s old high school threads.

Caleb Williams pulled up to Soldier Field wearing Ben Johnson’s high school jersey. pic.twitter.com/Ld70TPDRZ9

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) January 4, 2026

When you get past the fact that Johnson’s high school alma mater, A.C. Reynolds in Asheville, North Carolina, has jersays that look a lot like a certain despised NFC North rival’s—and that Johnson wore No. 12 as a high school quarterback, which is a tough combo in these parts—this is pretty cool from Williams.

After all, the Williams-Johnson duo has been the key engine behind the Bears’ 11-5 start heading into the regular-season finale, re-igniting a languishing offense into one of the NFL’s best. Williams even has a chance to set a single-season franchse record for passing yards this afternoon, along with an outside chance at becoming the first Bears quarterback to ever throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season.

But the innocuous gesture feels a bit more meaningful because of what Johnson and Williams had to go through to get to this point.

Outside observers frequently questioned whether or not Johnson, who demands a lot from his quarterbacks and is used to working with more pure pocket passers like Jared Goff rather than Williams’ run-and-gun style, and the former No. 1 overall pick could mesh. Then, as Williams struggled with growing pains, especially with his accuracy, some suggested Johnson had grown frustrated with his talented young passer’s tendencies to play off-schedule. Williams himself even called their early relationship “fragile.”

With time, though, the two have come together to make one another better through a mutual respect and desire for excellence, which in turn has spur the Bears on to greater heights, just the way they drew it up.

Now, they have Chicago on verge of wrapping up the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC while also avenging their worst loss of the season—a 52-21 Week 2 drubbing at the hands of the Lions, Johnson’s ex-team.

If the pregame swag is any indication, Williams and the Bears are ready to bring this one home for their coach—and punch their ticket to getting homefield advantage for most of the playoffs.

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