Caleb Williams’ Week 3 breakout gives Bears fans reason to breathe easy

It doesn’t matter how much of a die-hard Chicago Bears fan you are. You’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t admit you were at least a little worried about Caleb Williams and how the 2025 NFL season has been unfolding under the tutelage of new head coach Ben Johnson.

It’s not that Williams has had a bad start to the year. He’s been fine. In fact, he did get better from Week 1 to Week 2, albeit in Bears losses.

Still, Williams had yet to flash the skill set that made him the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft; the guy that most quarterback gurus dubbed a generational prospect that a franchise would be justified in tanking a season for.

That all changed in Week 3’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. Caleb Williams was that dude. He wasn’t perfect; there were a few layups that he could have connected on and padded his stats even more. But he was every bit a franchise-changing difference maker against a Cowboys secondary that was admittedly ripe for exposure.

Williams finished the Cowboys game with 298 passing yards and four touchdowns. He’s now on pace to become the first Chicago Bears quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. Most importantly, he kept the Bears’ playoff hopes alive ahead of a Week 4 matchup against a beatable Las Vegas Raiders team.

“Man, he was playing ball,” Rome Odunze said of Williams after the win. “In the pocket, outside the pocket. Making plays with his feet. All different types of things. That’s the talent that he is, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so moving forward.”

Preach, Rome!

While it’s too early to say for sure whether Caleb Williams turned the corner in Ben Johnson’s system, a game that was this good, this early in their marriage is a great sign of what could lie ahead.

Yes, Bears fans. It’s OK to get excited about what we saw out of Williams on Sunday. Sure, there have been moments with past failed first-round quarterbacks that felt like arrival games, but this one is very different. The obvious reason is Ben Johnson. But Williams’ supporting cast has been prepped for long-term success.

Rome Odunze. Luther Burden III. Colston Loveland. A talented offensive line that’s locked up for the foreseeable future.

All the variables are in place for Caleb Williams to be this guy for a really long time, and it all got started — for real — in the Bears’ win over the Cowboys.