Ben Johnson’s confidence sends a loud message about Caleb Williams and his ability to lead the Bears into the playoffs
The unwavering support for his quarterback continues.
The Chicago Bears are eager to turn the page to the playoffs following a two-game losing streak to end the regular season with a short week coming up before Saturday’s first round matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field.
The Bears, despite losing streak to end the season, finished the year with an 11-6 record and clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at and while the previous two weeks were disappointing, the level of urgency only rises for this team.
On Monday, head coach Ben Johnson discussed the importance of the postseason and made sure to note the number of players with playoff experience added to the roster. However, the most important player on the field for Chicago will be making his first career postseason start on Saturday.
Ben Johnson has the upmost confidence in QB Caleb Williams going into the playoffs
“He’s played in a lot of big games over the course of his life,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “I think he’s primed and he’s ready to go. He was built for these moments. He plays his best when we need him to. There’s really not a whole lot that needs to be said, he just needs to be him.”
The Bears enter into the playoffs coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season. Despite a “simpler” game plan, the Bears went three-and-out on three of the eight offensive possessions and entered the fourth quarter with zero points on the scoreboard.
However, when the lights got bright in the fourth quarter, Williams rose to the occasion leading two touchdown drives and tying the game at 16-16. On the final offensive drive with a chance to win the game, the Bears’ offense stalled after three plays and punted the ball back to the Detroit Lions, a decision Johnson immediately regretted by taking Williams off the field in that moment.
While the outcome proved to be unideal, Williams still had a history-making performance in Week 18, becoming the team’s single-season passing yard leader, passing Erik Kramer, with 3,942 passing yards. It’s a goal Williams set out to accomplish as soon as he was drafted first overall by the Bears and this entire season has been another year full of proving all the doubters wrong.
“I get drafted here, told that I’m not a special player, told that I’m not a good fit here, told that Coach and I won’t work,” Williams said last week. “I’m told that I can’t win here. And so I know that’s going to keep going on, but I do take a little satisfaction in being able to help this team, help this organization, be a part of it to get to the playoffs.”
Caleb Williams was born for big-time moments
Going back to his time in high school and in college at USC, Williams made some special plays in critical moments on the football field. The question was whether or not that clutch gene would carry over into his professional.
Just 34 games into his NFL career, the answer to that question is without a doubt yes. Even during a turbulent rookie season, Williams did remarkable things keeping his team within striking distance late games on a near weekly basis.
With an improved roster and a new coaching staff led by Johnson, those late game heroics finally turned into wins for Williams, building up his confidence even more than before.
“We have the best coaching staff in the world, and so you put the talent with the coaches and the people that care, you can strive for anything. You can reach anything. You can go after any goal,” Williams explained. “When you go out there on that football field, your belief is at an all-time high between players, between coaches, and you have outcomes like this.”
Williams led the Bears to sixth fourth-quarter comeback victories in 2025, becoming the first player under the age of 25 to have that many fourth-quarter comebacks in a single season since Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
The “Iceman” has been a special special player all season long for this team when it’s needed most. Saturday’s game will be the first of many postseason opportunities for Williams to continue proving that on a big stage and continue building his legacy with the Chicago Bears. And the entire organization is confident that he will deliver.
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