The Chicago Bears' four-game winning streak came to an abrupt end on Sunday. They couldn't get much going against the Baltimore Ravens' struggling defense, and plenty of that was on an erratic performance from quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams' woes were on display down the stretch when he was picked off deep into his own territory when he forced a pass to wideout Rome Odunze. He had other safer options at the time, which is why head coach Ben Johnson called him out for the mistake.
"Yeah, I didn't quite see. I would have to check it out on film just one more time," Johnson said, per CHGO Sports' Adam Jahns. "Just in my mind, there might have been another option that we could have gotten to."
Ben Johnson Doubles Down on Caleb Williams Criticism
Now, upon further review and after dissecting the play multiple times on film, the Bears' first-year head coach feels the same way. That's why he made sure to double down on his criticism of his young quarterback:
“I’d like to see him check that ball down," Johnson said.
Williams, however, doesn't feel the same way. When asked about the interception, which set up a Ravens touchdown to go up two scores, the second-year signal-caller acknowledged that he didn't make a good pass, but he still stood by his read and decision:
"Yeah, I, uh, it was a good read. Rome man to man with the guy that caught the pick. I just didn't give a good ball to Rome. (Nate Wiggins) undercut the route, and I could have led (Odunze) farther out in front instead of trying to give him a shot right here. (Wiggins) made a great break on the play," Williams said, per Eli Ong of WGN News. "(It was) just unfortunate where we were on the field in the situation."
Of course, this can be one of those situations in which both parties respectfully agree to disagree, but the important thing is that Williams takes it as a learning experience. There will be some growing pains with young quarterbacks; that's just a part of the deal.
Johnson is doing the right thing by holding him accountable and not letting him off the hook. Not only is he learning on the fly, but he's also letting everybody in the locker room know that he will hold no favorites. Everybody has to do their job, from the No. 1 pick to the undrafted free agent, and Williams can't be an exception.
Hopefully, Williams learns from his errors and comes back stronger than ever moving forward. Otherwise, Johnson will have to continue hammering home his message.