Bears QB Caleb Williams looking for
accuracy fix in time to face Aaron Rodgers and Steelers
[November 20, 2025]
By GENE CHAMBERLAIN
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams
grew up idolizing Aaron Rodgers. Now he might get the chance to
compete against him when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit Soldier Field
on Sunday.
With his completion percentage dipping below 60% and his passer
rating below 90, no one would confuse the way Williams is playing in
his second year with Rodgers’ illustrious career — not even Bears
coach Ben Johnson.
“Probably not right now,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I think (Rodgers)
is elite right now at getting the ball out of his hands. If he
doesn’t have the fastest snap to throw time in the league right now,
he’s gotta be close.
“He’s doing a really good job right now of spitting it out. He’s
accurate, you know."
Rodgers, who turns 42 on Dec. 2, has a broken bone in his left
wrist, but he is hoping to play against the Bears.
Johnson said Rodgers is "a good guy to look up to for a young
quarterback.”
“I think our guy’s the same way but we probably hold onto it a
little bit more, just where we are in the offense,” Johnson said of
Williams. “And as we’re learning and we’re growing, I think we’ll
gravitate more toward getting it out faster the more reps we have.”
Williams, 24, doesn’t necessarily want to be compared to Rodgers at
this point.
“I think there are probably a couple quarterbacks in the world that
have been able to spin the ball the way that he does,” Williams
said. “Growing up as a kid, when you find and realize how hard it is
to play this position, you admire some of the things he’s been able
to do over this long career he’s had."
Williams hasn’t been precise enough himself, misfiring last weekend
on a few open deep opportunities at Minnesota. One was to Rome
Odunze and one to DJ Moore.
“There were a couple of passes that I missed,” Williams said. “There
were a couple passes that we want back as a team. And there were
times that we were clicking and we were moving the ball and running
the ball and passing the ball well.”
While Williams has been inconsistent with his accuracy, completing
half of his 32 passes against the Vikings, the Bears have won three
in a row and seven of eight overall.
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates his team's
win over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov.
16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Williams has been particularly effective at the end
of games, with five game-winning drives. He has shown the ability to
escape a collapsing pocket before making plays with his feet, arm or
both.
That talent will be tested this weekend against T.J. Watt and the
Steelers’ pass rush.
“Yeah, I mean, they’ve got some werewolves on the outside, that
shows up,” Johnson said, referring to Watt and Alex Highsmith. “I
mean, some of the best first steps I think you’ll see in this
league.
“So when you have both sides that you’re concerned about, that’s
where you got to be pretty creative as a play designer to make sure
that they don’t affect the game in a negative fashion. So, I think
those guys, they hop off the tape immediately, both in the run game
and the passing game.”
Despite his accuracy issues, Williams hasn't thrown an interception
in his last three games. But he is still working on his completion
percentage.
“Ben said something to me and then said it to the team recently from
one of his former mentors,” Williams said. “He said — and this is
speaking on quarterback terms — I don’t know if you can go 25 for 25
but I do know that you can go 1 for 1 each and every single time, 25
times."
Notes: The Bears opened the 21-day window for slot cornerback Kyler
Gordon to return from IR (calf). He practiced Wednesday on a limited
basis, as did Jaylon Johnson (groin), who hasn’t played since Week
2. ... Linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) did not practice. He has
missed the last two games.
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