A massive Hall of Fame comparison pushes Caleb Williams buzz to new heights

It's difficult to not feel good about the Chicago Bears after securing their biggest win of the season. On Friday, the Bears stepped into Philadelphia against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, and dominated them. While the final score read 24-15, the Bears controlled the entire game, thanks in part to 281 rushing yards on 47 carries. But quarterback Caleb Williams had a solid showing, as he iced the game with a late touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet. Now, the Bears are 9-3 on the year.

Williams is not a complete quarterback right now, but once he starts clicking, he could very well be one of the best at his position. He entered with high expectations out of USC, and midway through his second season, a legendary player sees a bit of a Hall of Fame quarterback in his game.

During the FOX Sports NFL preshow, analyst Howie Long was asked to evaluate Williams' game. Long praised how comfortable Williams looks when rolling to his left. Long compared that aspect of Williams' game to former Denver Broncos quarterback and Hall of Famer John Elway.

Howie Long compares Caleb Williams to early-career John Elway

"He's as comfortable rolling to his left, flipping his hips...He's, for me, he's John Elway from my generation," said Long. "John Elway, he didn't light it on fire initially, and then he has a great career.

Any time you get compared to one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, you can't help but feel good. For Bears fans, after all of the quarterback drama and swings-and-misses, this is a welcoming comparison for their star.

As Long mentioned, Elway had a rough start to his NFL career. In his first three years, Elway threw for 8,152 yards, 47 touchdowns, and 52 interceptions on a 53.4 completion percentage. Yet, the Broncos went 27-13 when he started in that span.

After that, Elway developed into one of the top quarterbacks in the game. He won an NFL MVP award in his fifth season, was named to the Pro Bowl nine times, and in his final two seasons in the league, won two Super Bowl titles. If Williams has a similar career path as Elway, Bears fans will totally be fine with that.

As Long was making his comments, fellow analyst and former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman brought up the point that he is "coachable." Long piggybacked off of those comments to put further praise on Williams.

"I think [Ben Johnson] challenged him," said Long. "I think a lot of times the more talented guys are the guys that maybe work less on the details. Guys like you and me, who carry a lunch pail to work, you work your rear end off,and if there's no stone left unturned. I want every edge I can get. I want to look at every film I can. I want to look at every formation I can. Caleb is starting to buy in. He challenged the team but he also challenged the quarterback."

This is Williams' first season with Ben Johnson as his head coach. Johnson is credited with building the Detroit Lions into an offensive powerhouse, and helped turn the career around of quarterback Jared Goff. As Williams gets more reps in this offensive system, he should become more comfortable. If that does happen, expect his statistics to skyrocket.

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Having the "next John Elway" under center in the Windy City? Yeah, Bears fans would love that.