We are now a few days removed from seeing the Chicago Bears in action against the Cincinnati Bengals in their second preseason game of the summer, and people still cannot stop talking about one specific play from Caleb Williams' limited action.
On a 1st-and-20 from the Bengals' 27-yard-line, Williams dropped back and took aim for tight end Colston Loveland on what could very well have been a touchdown, had Loveland been able to get his body around in time to make the grab.
All the while, receiver Kaden Davis was wide open just a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage and, with Davis' speed, he could have taken it quite a ways as well.
Fans were quick to point out Davis being open, and even head coach Ben Johnson said as much after the game, telling the media he would've preferred Williams go that route instead. Johnson admitting this gave even more life to fans who questioned or criticized Williams for making the "wrong" throw.
Of course, the national media had to take off and run with this idea as well.
The national media can't stop talking about one silly Caleb Williams incompletion in a Bears preseason game
Except, it wasn't silly. But more on that later.
Just a single Caleb Williams preseason incompletion was apparently grounds for an entire segment on ESPN's morning show, "Get Up!"
And, you know what, I will be perfectly honest.
I did the thing where I saw the first couple of minutes of this segment and then turned it off. As soon as Dan Orlovsky called Kaden Davis a "running back," it was over for me.
Here is what I am wanting people to understand (mainly those who are criticizing the decision from Williams): this was the right read for a superstar quarterback.
Put Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow in that exact same scenario and one of them misses their target on that very throw.
No one is batting an eye.
It would've been nothing more than, "Oh, that was SO close to being a big play!"
But, because it's Williams, because it's the Bears and because it's been the media's favorite pastime to dunk on this franchise for the better part of this century, we're talking about the negative aspects of this play.
Caleb Williams should be making more reads like the one in question vs. the Bengals
Let's get this straight: that was a perfectly-fine decision from Caleb Williams.
I don't care what Orlovsky thinks. I don't care what any media member thinks. I don't even care what Ben Johnson thinks in this situation.
All due respect to Ben Johnson, but that's the type of throw and play that ends up being a gigantic moment if Williams and Loveland connect. And they were very close to connecting; much closer than we're giving them credit for.
It's low-hanging fruit to pick on the quarterback who had a 58 percent completion all of 2025 and tell him he should have taken the easier read.
But, if that ball is thrown just inches closer to Loveland, and if Loveland is able to get more on the same page with Williams in these types of situations, that would've been the play of the game, hands down.
Don't get this twisted. Williams and Loveland will soon be able to get on the same page when it comes to these plays that require certain reads. They'll continue to learn each others' tendencies to the point where big-time plays, like this, are made regularly.
Why is no one talking about the touchdown pass Williams made to Loveland in the back of the end zone, in traffic, in the team's joint practice? The level of difficulty on that throw might've even been higher than the miss in the preseason game.
We shouldn't be obsessing over Williams failing to make the read to Davis.
We should be obsessing over a "what if?" in this instance.
Yes, I am telling you to live in a world of "what ifs" when we regularly poke fun at the people who do this.
It's preseason! Who cares?
Just think, this is only Year 2 of Johnson's offense with Williams and Loveland still coming into their own.
A year from now, they're making plays like that, and even bigger ones, on a weekly basis.
You know what? No.
We could be seeing plays like this in a matter of weeks.
If you spend any amount of time looking at the fantasy football world, right now, you'll see and hear experts gushing over Loveland. There is a real world where he finishes as the top fantasy tight end in football this year.
That doesn't happen without Williams being great.
Loveland is uber-talented. Williams is a special quarterback well on his way to being a superstar.
Read more: 4 Bears non-starters who don’t need to play another preseason snap
Let him make those reads in the preseason, because the more he makes throws like that, the sooner we're going to start seeing them hit.
Add us as a preferred source on Google