Caleb Williams came back from his hamstring injury and promptly gave the critics another target - but the latest complaint misses what the Bears were trying to do.
After Week 6, the conversation shifted from his completion percentage to his average depth of target. Williams’ ADOT against the Falcons was lower than Bo Nix’s, and that was enough for some of his detractors to sound the alarm. But Chicago’s plan on the day told a much different story.
Williams returned this past week in a victory over the Atlanta Falcons, a game that also earned him NFC Player of the Week honors. It was his first action after missing a month with a hamstring strain/tear, and the Bears clearly treated it that way. A quarterback coming back from that kind of injury isn’t getting asked to carry the full burden of the offense right away.
So, yes, Williams posted the second-lowest ADOT of his career at 3.6 yards in Week 6. Yes, that number sits well below where Jordan Love is for the season, which has given Packers fans fresh ammunition. But the comparison only goes so far, because the context matters here.
The Bears weren’t trying to turn Williams loose with a full menu of seven-step drops, play-action boots, RPOs and designed runs. That would have been reckless. Instead, the idea was simple: keep him comfortable, keep him in the pocket, and get the ball out quickly.
That approach showed up in the numbers, but it also showed up in the result. Williams averaged 8.5 yards per attempt in Week 6, a figure that was higher than four of Jordan Love’s six games in 2026.
That’s the heart of it. The short throws weren’t a sign that the plan had gone wrong; they were the plan.
Ben Johnson wasn’t going to force a full workload on a quarterback making his first start back from a hamstring injury. He played it smart, and Williams moved the offense efficiently by getting the ball to his playmakers.
The criticism isn’t likely to stop, because it never really does with Williams. The goal posts keep moving, and for whatever reason he remains an easy guy for people to attack despite the leadership, the talent and the production.
But in this case, the numbers line up with the strategy. Ben Johnson’s plan worked.
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