Caleb Williams didn't spend the night before the Chicago Bears' season opener simply going over the game plan.
He also talked football with Drew Brees.
Brees was preparing to call Chicago's game against the Carolina Panthers when he spoke with Williams. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback gave him a remarkably simple way to think about improving his completion percentage.
Ben Johnson brought up the conversation Monday after watching the film from Chicago's 59-37 win.
Drew Brees gave Williams a simple number to remember
According to Johnson, Brees explained the difference between completing 60% and 70% of his passes.
Three completions.
"He said the difference is three completions a game," Johnson said.
It doesn't sound like much. Johnson believes Williams carried the message onto the field anyway.
"You turn on our tape and it's kind of like that might have stuck with our guy a little bit," Johnson said.
The evidence wasn't necessarily found on Williams' biggest throws.
Johnson pointed to a couple of checkdowns to his running backs. There were also plays where Williams moved off his first option, reset and took five yards instead of waiting around for something bigger to develop.
He threw the ball away when he needed to as well.
Those aren't the plays that usually end up in highlight packages. They can be the difference between a promising quarterback and one who consistently keeps an offense moving.
Bears saw a different side of Caleb Williams
Williams still provided plenty of the stuff Bears fans are used to seeing.
He threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns while adding 65 yards and two more scores on the ground. Chicago scored 59 points and pulled away from Carolina in the second half.
But Johnson sounded just as pleased with the boring plays.
"I thought he had some really nice throwaways when the plays weren't there," Johnson said. "Was smart with the football."
That's where the Brees conversation becomes interesting.
Nobody needs to teach Williams how to make ridiculous throws. He's been doing that since college. Finding the easy completion, moving through a progression and knowing when a play is dead are different parts of playing quarterback.
One conversation with Brees didn't suddenly transform Williams.
Johnson's film review suggests the lesson landed, though. If three extra completions really can make that much of a difference, Williams already appears willing to go looking for them.
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