Why Williams believes Bears ‘so close’ to consistency in pass game

The Bears’ passing game isn’t where quarterback Caleb Williams wants it yet.

Williams had his worst pass completion percentage of the season, and the second-worst of his two-year career, against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. It also marked Williams’ worst quarterback rating 13 games into the year.

But Williams remains confident the team is close to a breakthrough in completing passes at a consistent rate.

“We’re so close,” Williams said Tuesday, “and we’ll be hitting here soon.”

A dive into the numbers leaves little to be confident in.

Williams completed 47.2% of his passes for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Eagles. He’s had his four worst completion percentages over the past four games, all under 56%. Those totals are well below the 70% goal Johnson set for Williams to aim for this season at the start of training camp.

But Williams said to look beyond the statistics when looking back at film, especially Friday’s. He admitted there were a couple throws he missed, including to wide-open Rome Odunze in the end zone in the first half.

Other moments, though, players slipped, went the wrong way or there was miscommunication.

“We were in the right spot, right time and it’s just not on the same page,” Williams said. “So that’s really what it’s come down to. So us going back and watching film and looking at it and all that.”

Williams said he focuses on the details when trying to improve inaccuracy issues. He wants his footwork to be clean as he’s moving through the concepts and getting repetitions during practices. Williams also visualizes the different concepts and completing those passes so he feels confident that he can make them in games.

“It’s the fun part about a long season is you have these ups and downs, you also have these moments where you may not be hitting on all cylinders,” Williams said. “And then you have these moments where you know it feels like you can’t miss. We’re trying to get to the point where we feel like we can’t miss. We got a bunch of young guys, including myself, that are out there trying to make plays. It’s a lot of film, it’s a lot of talking, it’s a lot of open communication that we’ve been having and have to keep having to get to the point where we’re hitting on all cylinders at the right time this year.”

The Bears’ passing inconsistencies have bothered Bears head coach Ben Johnson as well. On Monday, he told reporters the team is winning in spite of its passing game. Johnson called it a collaborative effort to fix the issues, including working on ball location for Williams and route discipline for his receivers.

On Tuesday, Johnson wanted to clarify he wasn’t upset with Williams and said to throw the stats out the window. He praised Williams for the way he managed the game Friday, what Johnson considers to be the most important part of being a quarterback.

“He’s gonna continue to get better,” Johnson said. “The process is really good right now with how he approaches the week, the way he’s taken the coaching, the way he’s applying the coaching. I’m very pleased with that. I think we’re going to continue to see him ascend, whether the stats tell the story or not.”

Managing a game has been an important part of Williams’ development under Johnson this season.

The Bears need Williams to improve to maintain their push for a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

“We’re going to keep doing that as a team,” Williams said. “I’m going to keep trying my best to do that, and then when the time comes, go end the game.”