The signing of $65 million head coach Ben Johnson has paid off for the Chicago Bears, as quarterback Caleb Williams has taken a major leap in Year 2 and led the team to an impressive 9–4 record. Chicago’s playoff hopes are very much alive, and Williams is now chasing franchise history as he pushes the Bears toward January football.
However, not everything has been picture-perfect for the sophomore quarterback, and former Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner believes Williams still has one glaring issue he must fix.
Kurt Warner and Tom Brady Call Out Caleb Williams for Glaring Flaw
Through 13 games, Williams has thrown for 2,908 yards and 19 touchdowns with just six interceptions, while adding 321 rushing yards and three more scores. He ranks 20th in PFSN’s QB Impact metric with a score of 75 and a C grade, strong numbers for a second-year quarterback.
But one issue continues to follow him: accuracy. Williams is completing only 57.8% of his passes, ranking 42nd in the NFL, and both Warner and Tom Brady believe it’s the one flaw that could hold him and the Bears back.
Warner explained that while the Bears’ offensive design under Johnson often creates easy throws, Williams isn’t consistently capitalizing on them.
“Caleb’s got to be more efficient at hitting the layups that are out there,” Warner said. “When Ben creates the plays out there, whether it’s a read or a throw, and it’s what I would call elementary-level read or throw, like a starting QB in the NFL should make that throw most of the time… he’s gotta do a better job at making those plays.
“If he doesn’t, it’s going to cost him against good football teams. When you have to play two or three of those teams, you can’t miss easy opportunities and think that you’re going to make up for that. I don’t think Chicago’s that good. I think they are a good team. I don’t think they are that good, or Caleb is that good to overcome that.”
Brady echoed the concerns, noting that accuracy becomes even more crucial when a team falls behind in a game.
“The passing game is so important when you’re behind in games. … When you are down 28-3, you better be extremely accurate because the windows are very tight. You’re going to have to throw 30, 40 passes in the second half and overtime against a myriad of different coverages,” he said.
Despite the concerns, Williams has excelled in high-leverage situations, especially on third and fourth downs. But accuracy is the one area Chicago’s coaching staff must address as the Bears push toward the postseason, and Williams towards becoming the first Bears QB to record 4,000 passing yards in a season.
Chicago hosts the Cleveland Browns in Week 15 and should be favored, but with a tough closing stretch ahead, Williams will need to sharpen the one weakness that two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history just highlighted.