People wondered for months last year whether Caleb Williams would be a good fit in Ben Johnson’s offense. It’s easy to understand why. The new head coach had primarily worked with pocket-oriented quarterbacks in his career. Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, and Ryan Tannehill made up most of the list. It makes sense that he would design a system around maximizing what they did best. Williams was not that kind of quarterback. He was an off-script wizard known best for his improvisation. It felt like an awkward combination.
It worked out. The two found common ground as the season went on, molding the offense into something that functioned at a high level. Williams cracked 4,000 total yards and 30 total touchdowns. The Chicago Bears finished top 10 for the first time in 12 years. Yet people still couldn’t quite quantify what made Williams so dangerous in this system. Ben Solak of ESPN finally figured it out. It came down to a specific stat that went largely overlooked: air yards per attempt.
Caleb Williams makes an already explosive offense more explosive.
“Goff averaged 7.0 air yards per attempt on play-action passes through three seasons under Johnson; Williams was at 10.2 last season. This isn’t just shot selection or scramble drill noise. It’s a schematic choice. Goff averaged 9.0 air yards per attempt on in-breaking routes under Johnson. Williams is at 11.7. He had 12 completed in-breakers at least 20 yards downfield last season, whereas Goff had 17 such plays in three combined seasons. Williams is quite literally expanding the scope of the offense.
Of course, there is some shot selection. Goff takes the checkdowns that Williams doesn’t, because Williams was escaping pressure that Goff couldn’t outrun. Williams can take more of those checkdowns, which will help the completion percentage — but that’s not the point. The point is to generate — say it with me — more explosives.”
Williams can help Johnson’s offense go Super Saiyan.
Remember that the Detroit Lions offense with Goff flirted with 600 points in 2024. They carved opponents up almost at will. They did this with a quarterback who manufactured explosive plays mostly through fundamental precision. Williams does that with natural talent alone. The Bears were 12th in the league last year with 39 completions of 20 yards or more. That was with Williams’ dismal 58.1 completion percentage. Imagine what would’ve happened if he’d bumped that up to even average NFL levels at 64%. This is why Johnson’s offense is even more frightening.
There is no longer a limit on the number of ways he can generate big plays. He has a quarterback who can do anything and everything. More arm than Goff. More mobility than Goff. Simply more aggressive thinking than Goff. That allows an offense to do more things than it ever could have before. Remember, Johnson said last season that the Bears were operating at around 20% of the system’s full capacity. Those numbers are all but certain to go up as Williams’ comfort level grows.
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The truly terrifying part is Johnson’s mood.
Unlike last year, when the head coach looked visibly frustrated and annoyed at the state of the offense’s progress, he has shown none of that. Johnson stated more than once that he liked where Caleb Williams is and the overall state of the unit. Considering how ludicrously high Johnson’s standards are, it is telling that he is good with their progress ahead of the season opener. Just how much more dangerous will the offense be if he has few complaints? Upcoming opponents should be nervous.
They could barely stop the Bears when the two were out of sync. Now that they are on the same page, the only thing stopping this offense is itself. Johnson has a firm grasp of his players’ strengths. Williams understands the language of the system. The only thing to do is go out and play the games. If everybody can stay healthy, the Bears will pick up where they left off last season.
