Monday night's season opener against the Minnesota Vikings was a big moment for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. After a turbulent rookie season and plenty of criticism from all corners, he could start rewriting the narrative with a good performance.
And things started out nicely. Williams completed his first 10 passes in the game, as Vikings' defensive coordinator Brian Flores inexplicably went against his blitz-heavy grain. Williams finished the Bears' first drive of the game with the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Over their next 10 drives, the Bears scored three offensive points (could've been six if not for a missed field goal by Cairo Santos). The Vikings were also able to get to Williams more effectively as the game went on, with a Week 1-high 20 total pressures according to Pro Football Focus when it was all said and done, and last year's scattershot accuracy resurfaced.
According to NextGen Stats, Williams had the fifth-longest average time from snap to throw in Week 1 (3.04 seconds). Some of that was fueled by throws on the move, but not all of it.
After completing those first 10 passes against the Vikings, Williams went just 11-for-25 through the air the rest of the way. He routinely missed or turned down open receivers, in a dismal flashback to his rookie season.
3rd and 10 against cover 3. Caleb has DJ Moore wide open at the top of the screen to pick up the first. Turns it down. Also has OZ on the backside in after stepping up in the pocket. Doesn’t throw it. Clean pocket. This is the really concerning stuff pic.twitter.com/96kV9tpqjM
— Bears Blog Boy (@TommyK_NFLDraft) September 9, 2025
Calls for Tyson Bagent to replace Caleb Williams are a non-starter
A strong section of Bears fans believe in Williams, and they still will after a rough overall performance in the Week 1 loss. For others who have hesitated to believe in Williams, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent is their favorite and those fans like to call for Bagent to be the starter.
During the preseason, as the Bears' starting offense with Williams struggled and Bagent played very well, the debate about Bagent being the starting quarterback began to rage. That debate, flimsy as it was/is, was fortified by the Bears signing Bagent to a notable contract extension.
A search of Bagent's name on Twitter/X after Monday night's game shows plenty of ideas about when he will or should replace Williams as the Bears' starting quarterback. It's as if those theorists have forgotten about the complexity of head coach Ben Johnson's offense, and how Williams started from square one in a lot of respects when Johnson arrived.
It's not that there shouldn't be a bit of concern about Williams, since the most notable flaws from his rookie season appear not to have gone away. But it was only one game, and there were always going to be some early-season ups and downs for him and the Bears' offense.
Read more: Ben Johnson casually reveals why he'll be the difference for Caleb Williams
There may come a time when Bagent replacing Williams as the Bears' starting quarterback is a legit conversation. But that time is not now, nor is it coming (barring a major injury for Williams) before the 2025 season is over.