Coming off a breakout season in 2025 where he emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and lead the Chicago Bears to 11-6 record, Caleb Williams is being asked to do less.
Bears quarterback coach J.T. Barrett wants Williams’ third season to be less about the plays where he wears a cape and makes heroic plays.
Barrett recently said he wants Williams to “do less,” per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser.
Barrett added: “We don’t have to work as hard for our money. There’s times where we could just work through our progression and get the ball out on time instead of having to create and extend plays.”
During the Bears playoff run to the NFC Divisional Round, Williams made some impossible plays. For all his jaw-dropping throws, Williams too often missed, didn’t see or didn’t take the easy ones.
His completion percentage during his first year under head coach Ben Johnson actually dropped from 62.5 as a rookie to 58.1, above only the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy and 6.2 off the league average. His -6.9 completion percentage over expected was the worst in the league among players who attempted at least 200 passes, 1.7 worse than McCarthy, who was the only other such QB to break -4%. Williams’ time to throw was 3.20, eclipsed only by the Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders.
“Late in some of those games, we were making some heroic plays … but it wasn’t necessary if we execute in the first quarter and second quarter,” Barrett said. “We might be up two touchdowns by the time we get to the fourth quarter.
“We can be efficient and take what the defense is giving. You don’t necessarily have to put the cape on and make those crazy plays because you already were killing them in the first three quarters.”
Williams making the leap in consistency is the next crucial step to the Bears sustaining the success from their 11-6 run to the top of the NFC North.
No matter how much he owned the fourth quarter in 2025, wins will only come consistently on a year-to-year basis by diminishing the frequency of the need for late-game heroics.
If Williams can do that, he will take another step in his development.
