The Chicago Bears open up the regular season with a home battle against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. This offseason has been filled with excitement, considering they brought in Ben Johnson, a move that should lead to one raucous crowd at Soldier Field.
A large part of his decision to come to the Windy City was aided by having Caleb Williams at quarterback. Following an up-and-down rookie season, some doubts have been cast on whether Williams is the generational quarterback that many called him upon entering the league.
With Johnson calling the shots now, Williams is in a better position to succeed and has a shot to shut down all the critics as he heads into his sophomore season.
Bears QB Caleb Williams Can Quiet Any Noise in Week 1
As a rookie, Williams completed 62.5% of his throws for 3,541 passing yards along with 20 passing touchdowns and six interceptions. He was sacked a league-high 68 times. While some of those sacks were due to shaky offensive line play, Williams also held on to the ball way too long.
He was constantly looking to create the big play, leading to more unnecessary sacks and hits. The Vikings' defense is no slouch either. In 2024, they were tied for fourth in the NFL in team sacks (49) and tied for first in the NFL in takeaways (33). They are running it back with defensive coordinator Brian Forles, while adding Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to the defensive line.
Minnesota's defense only improved this offseason and will be one of the better units again in 2025. In Williams' two starts against the Vikings last season, he went 50-of-78 (64.1%) for 531 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Despite those numbers, Williams and the Bears went 0-2 in those games.
If the USC product comes out and lights up this Vikings defense in front of a nationwide audience on Monday Night Football, it'll show the football world what the pairing of Williams and Johnson could do. Last season, we saw Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels form a thrilling duo with the Washington Commanders, as he immediately played like a top 5 QB in the league as a rookie. Fans in the Windy City hope for a similar outcome with this pairing once the 2025 season kicks off this weekend.
The Bears' offense is filled with playmakers, and now it's up to Williams to showcase why everyone said leading up to the 2024 draft that he was the best QB to enter the league in years. He has all the tools needed to be a franchise QB. After spending one year in the NFL, he knows what he can expect from opposing defenses as well as what he needs to do to ensure he is putting himself and his teammates in the best position possible for success.
Given the success Johnson enjoyed as the play caller for the Detroit Lions' dynamic offense the past couple of years, it's only natural for that expectation to follow to Chicago. Williams has the golden ticket to be the driving force of that unit, and it starts in Week 1.