Even before the season began, plenty of people who’d been skeptical of Caleb Williams began to admit he was starting to look like a legitimate franchise quarterback. However, some holdouts remained. Chief among them was former quarterback Dan Orlovsky. The longtime ESPN analyst made it known on several occasions that he wasn’t convinced Williams had arrived at all. There were still too many lingering questions about his game, from the well-documented completion percentage issues to his overall command at the line of scrimmage.
It appears Monday night in Seattle finally broke Orlovsky. He couldn’t deny the reality staring at him in the face any longer. Williams has evolved. The player you saw in college is gone. Even the player you saw last season is gone. The Chicago Bears quarterback has transformed into something this league rarely sees: a true field general. Orlovsky admitted that while watching Williams operate against the elite Seattle Seahawks defense, he saw the same characteristics as those of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning.
Caleb Williams is in total control.
This is not your typical setup of a quarterback just doing what his head coach says all the time. He is in full control. Yes, Ben Johnson runs the offense and calls the plays, but once the huddle breaks, Williams makes the decisions. That includes changing the play if necessary. The mastery he has of this system is truly staggering. Most of the time, it takes a quarterback around three years to truly digest an offense and run it like a pro. Williams is already there, and the numbers prove it.
Through 5 games this year, Caleb Williams has thrown for 1,269 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 interception while completing 70.6% of his passes. If those numbers hold for the rest of the season, he will finish with 17 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. That is an astounding level of efficiency most quarterbacks couldn’t dream of. It’s also a testament to the quarterback’s unselfishness. Those numbers could frankly be higher if he wanted. There have been several instances where he had the chance to add a couple of extra touchdown passes to his tally. Instead, he opted to hand the ball off to D’Andre Swift, who has 10 touchdowns this season.
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It is further proof that the numbers don’t matter to him as much as winning does. Brady would certainly be proud.
People can’t even argue the schedule.
His past two opponents, Seattle and New England, rank #1 and #8 in the NFL in total defense. Williams had a combined 108.7 passer rating against them. Those units don’t play bad games. The Bears’ quarterback just made what they did irrelevant. His mixture of talent and newfound command of the offense has reached a point where calling good defense alone isn’t enough. He’ll still find openings and isn’t reckless enough to give the ball back to you. It is what made guys like Brady, Brees, and Manning so maddening to play.
The only way to beat them was to be perfect, or pray they had a rare off day. Williams has reached that tier. Whether he stays there remains to be seen. If he does, Orlovsky and others can recognize the reality. Chicago just became infinitely tougher to beat. Not just this season but maybe for the next decade and beyond. This is uncharted territory, not only for Bears fans but also for those who’ve grown used to seeing this franchise stumble at the quarterback position.
