As expected, the Chicago Bears' offense was sparked by the return of quarterback Caleb Williams in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons. He completed his first 12 passes on his way to going 30-for-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown. He also won NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Of course, the Williams' critics also came back out, citing the second-lowest ADOT (Average Depth of Target) of his career to dismiss his performance in his first game back from a hamstring injury. Some of those same critics were probably among the fake tough guys who criticized Williams for being carted off the field after he suffered said hamstring injury late in Week 2.
No current quarterback in the NFL has the goalposts moved on them quite like Williams does. If he ever wins a Super Bowl, people will probably say he needs to win another to be regarded as truly great.
While he went 6-for-9 for 50 yards on throws from outside the pocket against the Falcons, notably including the touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland, Williams only had three yards on four rushing attempts in the game and one was a victory formation kneel-down.
In his other two games this season, including one in bad weather that naturally limited improvisation, Williams averaged 7.5 rush attempts per contest.
Mike Vrabel knows better than to dismiss Caleb Williams' mobility
During his press conference on Tuesday, ahead of his team playing the Bears on Thursday night, a reporter asked New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel how Williams' mobility seemed to be limited in the game against the Falcons. The box score certainly says that based on his rushing stats, while 25 percent of his passes being on the move might say something a little different.
Then came an actual question regarding whether the Patriots' defense is preparing for a more pocket-restricted, maybe less than 100 percent healthy? version of Williams, or the well-documented dangerous and fully mobile version?
"I'm not buying that lie. I hope the players don't either", Vrabel said. "He's as fast as he needs to be, I'll say that."
When it came down to it, Williams didn't need to take off and run like he otherwise might against Atlanta. Coming off a hamstring injury, he probably shouldn't have run unless he absolutely had to in a critical situation anyway.
Ben Johnson shaped a game plan around that exact idea, with a lot of short drops and short routes to accommodate getting the ball out quickly. Williams operated at a high level within that structure, like everyone has wanted to see him do.
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But Vrabel and his defensive staff clearly saw the tape from the Bears-Falcons game, with Williams still offering a sampling of what he can do throwing on the move. So, as they should be, the Patriots are as prepared as they can be to see the typical version of the Bears' quarterback.
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