Caleb Williams did not watch the reaction to last week’s emotional news conference, and he does not plan to change how he talks. On Tuesday, two days before the Chicago Bears host the New England Patriots on Thursday night, the quarterback said the questions about how he handled his hamstring injury gave him something extra for his return.
“I know people, I mean, everything I say, somebody’s going to say something, national or anything like that. So didn’t see it,” Williams said. “I’m going to always be myself and speak up when I feel I need to speak up. And that was just one of those moments.”
He said the main motivation was getting back on the field with his teammates after a loss. “And then being able to have, you know, question me and my character and all those, you know, those bunch of different things and how I went about my injury,” he said. “You know, I think that was just a little added.”
30 of 36 in his first game back
Williams missed three games with a torn hamstring before he returned on Sunday in Atlanta. He completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in a 31-23 win. He was sacked four times, and he said a couple of those were on him. “Those couple sacks that I probably could have just dirtied the ball or threw it out of bounds or something,” he said. “Body feels good, didn’t take many hits, didn’t take any, you know, devastating hits at least, and so feeling good, leg feels good.”
A reporter pointed out that he was 24 of 24 from a clean pocket. Williams handed the credit to the line, the running backs for their pickups and the receivers “for running great routes and being decisive in the routes.” He said the efficiency came from the basics he has worked on with head coach Ben Johnson: “Giving the guys a shot, runner’s ball, good footwork.” He also explained how often the shots are built in: “It’s almost every pass play. We almost have at least a shot or an alert shot in each of them. So when they give us the shots, let’s take it, but if not, let’s get the ball to our guys.”
Chicago’s first play was a keeper, a 16-yard completion to tight end Colston Loveland, and Williams said that call was pure Johnson. “That’s him,” Williams said. “Like I said, if I’m out there, I feel good with my legs and the injury, and so that’s who he is.” “He put me on a keeper on the first play, and it was a big play for us. And, you know, Colston made a great catch.”
“He’s a problem child”
Luther Burden III caught all eight passes thrown to him for 95 yards in Atlanta, and he leads the Bears with 361 receiving yards this season. Williams said he wants the ball in Burden’s hands as often as possible. “He’s a problem child, so we want to get him the ball as much as possible,” Williams said. “He’s explosive with the ball in his hands.”
He also admitted that a couple of balls should have gone to Burden on plays where Burden was his first read, something the team joked about in Tuesday’s meeting. “I’ll be better with that,” Williams said.
Loveland caught six passes for 65 yards, and his 14-yard catch on the opening drive was Williams’ first touchdown pass since his return. Asked if Loveland is just a matter of time, Williams said: “He gets open, and he’s going to keep getting open, and I’m going to keep feeding him the ball.” He said he told the receivers before he came back that they were the best in the world. “BIW is what I tell them,” he said. “I keep preaching to them, you know, get open, get open, get open. I’ll put the ball there, go catch it.”
Johnson, Kevin Byard and Drake Maye
Williams is in his second season with Johnson calling his plays. “What I love about Ben, he adjusts to his players extremely well,” he said. “He’s super challenging on each position. He requires a lot of each guy, and then he’s super consistent about how he is each and every single day.” He said the two have cut down on the small things that bother Johnson, like the pre-snap work, getting lined up and penalties, so there is “a little bit less hyper communication” now.
New England safety Kevin Byard III spent the last two seasons in Chicago, so Williams practiced against him every day. “He’s a super savvy vet,” Williams said. “He’s getting up there in age, but he’s still, you know, fast. I’ve seen him work. He studies film. He still moves extremely well, and he knows the route concepts really well. So excited to go versus him.”
Williams and Drake Maye were the first and third picks of the 2024 draft. They first met as rookies in November 2024, when New England won 19-3 at Soldier Field and sacked Williams nine times. Williams said the two go back much further than that. “I’ve kind of grown up with Drake throughout the years. We’ve been in the same class for a while. We’ve went to so many camps,” he said, calling Maye one of the players he is closest to on another team. “His mobility and things like that, it’s always been a weapon for him throughout college, high school, all of that.”
Both teams are 4-2. The Patriots visit Soldier Field on Thursday, October 22, at 8:15 p.m. ET (3:15 a.m. Friday in Cairo).
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