Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams established a strong foundation for themselves in Year 1 together.
Over the course of the 2025 season, Johnson challenged Williams during the installation phase of his new offense, throwing more information at him than he could handle to test the quarterback’s resilience. That tough coaching made Williams more comfortable in Johnson’s offense over time. Williams set the Bears' franchise record with his 3,942 passing yards and added 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“He put in a lot of time, a lot of effort,” Johnson said in the end-of-season news conference. “I thought he grew up as a professional. I thought his communication to the coaching staff grew. I thought his communication to his teammates grew. But we will certainly have a number of points of emphasis that he can dive into when he comes back this springtime.”
Like every player, Williams excelled in many areas of his game, but there are also certain aspects that he can continue to improve as he prepares for his third NFL season. Here are some notable statistics using Pro Football Focus’ data.
The passing stats are among those of 33 NFL quarterbacks with at least 270 dropbacks. Rushing stats are among those of quarterbacks with at least 55 rushing attempts.
Big-Time Throw Rate
Williams finished seventh in the NFL with his 5.3% big-time throw rate. Big-time throws are passes with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.
Williams’ touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime against the Green Bay Packers immediately comes to mind as a pass that qualifies under the big-time throw category.
Adjusted Completion Rate
Here is an obvious area that Williams must improve. Adjusted completion rate is the percentage of aimed passes thrown on targets (completions + drops / aimed). Williams finished 32nd out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks with his 69.4% adjusted completion rate.
This stat accounts for drops, and according to Pro Football Reference, the Bears finished with 29 drops, the fifth most in the NFL.
Missed Tackles Forced Per Rush Attempts
Williams was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at forcing missed tackles, finishing No. 3 in the NFL with his 0.19 missed tackles forced per rush attempt.
Not only is Williams elusive, but he’s also fast. In the Week 17 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, the Bears’ quarterback reached 21.01 miles per hour on a 4-yard run on third-and-four.
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Williams' ability to evade rushers and pick up yards on the ground (388 yards and three touchdowns) makes him a difficult quarterback to defend. If he can improve on his accuracy, he should be in line to set new career highs in Year 3.