Bear Digest

What Caleb Williams' fourth-quarter comeback record means long term

Historically, the Bears QB is a few comebacks short of an NFL record, but he displays evidence of what Ben Johnson wants from a young passer.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks to throw on the run against the Packers in his sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the year.
Caleb Williams looks to throw on the run against the Packers in his sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the year. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson always likes to defer praise or criticism of Caleb Williams until after he looks at the game film to see exactly what his quarterback saw and tried to do during the game.

After Saturday night's win, Johnson figured he could offer something up for everyone.

It shouldn't have been difficult from the way Williams was running all the way around Soldier Field acknowledging fans up close and personal. After all, you don't win over the hated rivals from Green Bay 22-16 in overtime with a shocking comeback and 46-yard overtime TD every day.

'It's hard for me to comment entirely on his performance just off the cuff like this, but he came through and he always makes plays when needed," Johnson said. "He's clutch like that.

"We'll go back. We'll look at anything that we could have done better over the course  of the game, but I thought he always keeps a level head. He understands the situation so, so well."

Six comebacks by Williams was labeled by the Bears as some sort of NFL record for quarterbacks under age 25. What about under age 24 or 23 or 26? That's more of an accomplishment than an actual record for the NFL Record and Facts book, their historical bible.

The real NFL record for fourth-quarter comebacks by a quarterback in a season is eight by Kirk Cousins in 2022 with the Vikings, and Matthew Stafford with the Lions in 2016. So Williams has a shot at this if he wants to put Bears fans through two more heart attack wins in the final two games.

This is an area where Johnson sees real progress and maturity in his young passer, even if there are statistical areas Williams hasn’t mastered, such as completion percentage.

Johnson saw this Saturday when he gave Williams instructions near the five-minute mark with the Bears down 16-6.

"We're down by two scores and, ‘Hey, we’ve got to score as fast as we can here, got it,’ " Johnson said. "He's all over it trying to work as quickly as we can and I think he gets better every single week.

"I think that's something we keep talking about."

Williams wouldn't call it a signature moment afterward.

“It was a great moment," Williams said. "I got a lot of great moments coming up.

"I think it's a signature moment for us as a team to be able to build this confidence. A signature moment for us to be able to be in the position we are with 11 wins and everything at the tip of our fingers is exactly where we want to be, I'll put it that way.”

Ultimately, the finish might be good for Williams’ advancement but also the team’s.

“We have a lot of guys that don't have playoff experience or don't have meaningful games in December experience, right?" Johnson said. "It's a little bit foreign territory for a number of them.

"We talk about keeping our poise and what it takes to win these games and I think we're going to continue to get better and learn how to handle them."

With Williams leading the way with clutch play in comeback situations, they could all get plenty of experience in these situations this year and in future years.

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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.