These stats show how Bears’ new offense has unlocked Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams has shown tremendous strides this year doing something he rarely did in college.

Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws downfield during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

It goes without saying that Ben Johnson’s hire by the Chicago Bears was meant to take second-year quarterback Caleb Williams’ game to the next level. The question was always about “how” he’d do it. 

Lean into Williams’ past comfort with USC, line up in shotgun, and sling it all over the yard?

Trick-plays and RPOs?

Air-raid style deep shots with one of the most electric arms in the game?

In the end, Johnson stuck with what he knew to get the most out of Williams: getting under center, running the ball, and doing a lot of play-action off it. That approach required some buy-in from Williams, who only attempted seven total passes from under center in college. But the results have been worth it.

ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky laid down two stats Monday showing how Williams has begun to unlock his potential as a passer at a rapid pace. According to Orlovsky’s post, Williams currently boasts the third-highest QBR using play-action (80.0) and the fourth-most passing yards from under center (795) in the NFL so far in 2025.

For one thing, those numbers speak glowingly of Williams’ ability to adapt to a new offensive system after a tumultuous first season. Asking second-year quarterbacks to learn a third offense in three seasons (going back to their last year of college) is risky, and we’ve seen more than a few young QBs dashed against the rocks when put in that situation. Clearly, the Bears were right to trust in his skills and resilience to persevere through the growing pains.

Most of all, though, Williams’ success under center and with play-action suggest the Bears made the right decision to throw the bag at Johnson.

Why? Because he understands that, on a fundamental level, offensive football doesn’t have to be rocket science.

Especially for young quarterbacks, play-action is a cheat code, opening up more passing lanes down the field as linebackers get sucked in to stop the run. And putting quarterbacks under center, as Johnson puts it, forces defenses to honor play-action run fakes just a split-second longer than in shotgun. Plus, you can often tell in shotgun whether a running back is in position to receive a handoff or not, which affords under-center play-action yet another advantage.

This simple trick has made Williams and the Bears offense more unpredictable and given the young quarterback more space to rip throws down the field. Once the Bears start getting more consistent receiver play, things will really take off.

In the meantime, though, Johnson has seemingly already done a marvelous job helping Williams step his game up in 2025. 

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