Caleb Williams’ outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 31-28 victory at Soldier Field featured a mixed bag of results.
The second-year quarterback ended his 28th career NFL game 19-of-35 for 239 yards, three touchdowns, and a fumble lost that resulted in a Steelers’ touchdown.
Of course, it takes more than looking at a box score to accurately assess Williams’ performance in the Week 12 game at Soldier Field.
How was Williams' performance against the Steelers viewed
Each week, Bleacher Report assigns a letter grade for each QB performance. Williams was given a B for his latest game. Nine other QBs finished with the same grade.
Here is an excerpt that details why Williams finished with his grade.
“Sunday's outing was far from flawless.
The sophomore quarterback's inexplicable fumble in the end zone cannot happen after holding the ball too long, not showing good pocket awareness and basically giving away a defensive touchdown. It's an example of decision-making at its worst.
Also, Williams performed poorly against pressure despite the Bears' offensive line holding up relatively well for most of the contest.
In the end, Chicago won again. Williams made multiple excellent throws. He deserves credit for where the team currently stands. At the same time, there are a couple underlying concerns to watch closely.”
The article also cited that Williams has played well down the stretch and highlighted the quarterback’s fourth quarter drive that started with a 20-yard completion to DJ Moore.
Williams’ fumble was obviously a play that he would've liked to have back, and he talked about the play after the game.
“What I'm supposed to do is just throw the ball away,” Williams said. “In that situation, just throw the ball away, live to fight for another down. Yeah, that's it.”
Throughout the game, Williams’ accuracy fluctuated. At times, he made completions over the middle of the field to Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Moore. There were other passes that he missed.
Johnson shared his assessment on Williams’ throws in the middle of the field.
“I think he's getting more comfortable there and he hit a few, and then there were a couple that we were talking about a minute ago that we felt like if we bring it down just a little bit, that we could have a couple more explosives there in that game,” Johnson said. “So, it's an area that he has improved dramatically since I got here from the springtime all the way up to this point. And so, I think he's got a lot more confidence throwing those things inside the numbers. Some guys get a little bit nervous and get a little bit afraid to do that, and he's not that type.”
Read more: Where Ben Johnson must see improvement in Bears' offense the rest of 2025 season
The B grade that Bleacher Report assigned to Williams feels fair, and it gives the second-year quarterback room to improve with six games remaining in the regular season.