One thing fans can appreciate about Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is his willingness to be open and transparent, but his recent comments did not sit well with him.
When discussing his quarterback, Caleb Williams, and the Bears' recent passing struggles, Johnson was honest: "nobody was pleased" with it. Johnson backtracked one day later, clarifying that he was unhappy with the passing game, not Williams specifically.
"When I made that comment yesterday it’s easily construed as I’m not happy with the quarterback. That’s not the case whatsoever. He continues to get better each and every week and I couldn’t be more pleased with how he played last week. And I know what the stats say. Throw those out the window. He’s doing a really good job managing the ballgame. That’s step No. 1 for the quarterback."
Johnson is crystal clear now that he's good with Williams
Most Bears fans probably understood what he meant about the passing game and not specifically targeting Williams. It's the same frustration everyone else shares: it hasn't been as good as it could be.
Williams is barely completing over 58% of his passes for the season and is arguably coming off his worst game in the Johnson era against the Philadelphia Eagles. He completed under 50% of his passes and threw one touchdown to one interception in the 24-15 win over Philly.
One benefit to Williams' game is his ability to protect the football. He has only thrown five interceptions this season. Williams has a career interception rate of 1.1%, which, if it holds up, would be an NFL record.
Thankfully, the running game has been stellar for the Bears as they are coming off a 281-yard performance, the second-highest of the season. They are now averaging a league-high 153.8 yards per game this season.
Read more: Ben Johnson didn't mince words about Bears having the number one seed in NFC
When Johnson came to Chicago, the fan base knew Williams would be a project that would take some time, but the signs are there that there is someone special at the signal-caller position. It's just going to take some time to get there.