Even Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has moments where he can’t believe what Caleb Williams can do.

Take that touchdown pass he threw to Olamide Zaccheus against the Packers where he fit the ball through a keyhole and around Micah Parsons, for example.

But then you have numbers from the same game showing he was off-target on 42% of his throws in the first half (including throwaways).

That mixed bag is something Johnson, Williams, and the Bears are still working through.

“There’s certainly some [throws] that you can talk about each week where you feel like guys are open and we can certainly give them a ball on time and give them a chance to run after catch and all that. Then, there’s that mix of, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen in my life’ type deal with him,” Johnson told reporters of Williams this week. 

“And that’s something we’re striving to do is combine both of those worlds to where we think we’re going to have a really good quarterback in this league, a really dangerous quarterback in this league, a really dangerous offense, a really good team for a long time when we’re really able to combine both of those thought processes. We’re not quite there yet. We’re working diligently every day. I’ve said it every week, that you see growth in so many other areas that when that last little bit comes along, I think we’re going to be really pleased with where we are.”

To be clear, the overall trajectory of Williams’ game thus far has been upward, as he continues to leverage his tremendous skills outside the pocket and develop increased comfort within it. His completion percentage of 57.1% is troubling, but the Bears remain in the top half of the league in terms of explosive passing plays, which is a good sign that it isn’t killing the offense yet. 

Few second-year quarterbacks had a harder go of it last year with their coaching staff than Williams did, which means it’s natural that he’s had to make the biggest adjustment. And some of it has gone swimmingly: Williams has swiftly become one of the NFL’s deadliest quarterbacks off of play-action less than year into Johnson’s tenure.

But throws like that game-losing interception against the Packers—both in terms of the timing and the miss itself—and some of the sprays he had in the first half remind you this is still a work in progress. The relationship between Johnson and Williams has come into question from outsiders throughout the year, but it certainly seems like they’re in lockstep when it comes to how they talk about where they are so far.

They both know it’s not all the way there yet. But they’re both more than good enough to get it where it needs to go. And when they do, it’ll be scary for the league.

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