Playoff loss to Rams haunts, propels Bears QB Caleb Williams into new season
In the middle of a conversation that wandered from blueberries and organic bread recipes to iconic sports leaders like Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams landed on one of his least favorite topics.
For every amazing thing that happened last season, including his own heroic plays and overall growth, the bitterness of losing to the Rams in the playoffs sticks with him.
His ridiculous touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet to tie that game in the final minute and force overtime was the most amazing play of the NFL season. Williams got the snap at the Rams’ 20-yard line, scrambled back to the 40 to buy time as their pass rushers chased him and got hit as he heaved it to the left corner of the end zone for Kmet’s over-the-shoulder catch.
Even on rewatch, it’s hard to believe he put that ball on target.
The highlight has 1.2 million views on the NFL’s YouTube page. The iPhone video shot from that corner by NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales is at 5.6 million and counting. And Williams would rather not see it again anytime soon, given that the game ended when he threw an interception in overtime and the Rams won with a field goal.
“It burns,” he said toward the end of training camp. “It’s frustrating. It still bothers me today. Every single time the play pops up… it feels like it was for nothing.”
That’s the emotional reaction. He usually pivots next to introspection and a bigger-picture view. Reaching the divisional round of the playoffs and getting that close to advancing was a step, both for him as a young player and a franchise that hadn’t made it that deep in the playoffs in 15 years.
But even with a broader perspective, steps only matter if they continue forward. The Bears are looking for the year-over-year momentum that fuels NFL powerhouses and they need to keep climbing when this season starts Sunday at the Panthers.
They got better in every way under coach Ben Johnson last season.
His precision, drive and competence was a sharp turn from predecessors Matt Eberflus and Matt Nagy. While Williams still has significant work to do, he set the franchise’s single-season passing record and spurred general manager Ryan Poles to start planning for a contract extension. They won the NFC North for the first time since 2018.
Everything about last season was progress. Now there must be more of it.
Williams is ambivalent when it comes to recognizing the Bears’ overall path versus feeling the pain of that loss. He believes in pressing on at all times, which served him well during a tumultuous rookie season. He’s also the guy who bristles when he sees Tulane’s angry little wave logo because he still hates that at USC he lost to the school in the 2022 Cotton Bowl.
“I’m not a person who holds onto those moments where I’m stuck in a rut,” he explained. “It’s going to sting every time it comes back up, but it doesn’t get me into a funk… We’re onto the next and we’re going to focus on [going] further than we did last year.”
Williams has more influence on whether that happens than anyone at Halas Hall. Even Johnson can’t win without a quarterback.
The lasting images of his 2025 season are the throw to Kmet, the fourth-and-eight jump pass in the playoff win over the Packers, the walk-off touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in the regular season and various other jaw-dropping scrambles and passes. Those plays meant so much that the details sometimes got lost in the shuffle.
Not to Johnson, of course. He kept it real with Williams about his decision making, errors in his footwork that led to inaccurate throws and anticipating defensive coverages. Tightening things up in those three areas would make things “significantly different in terms of our passing game,” Johnson told the Sun-Times.
The Bears were 10th in passing offense last season, which was their best since 2013, but Johnson only ever thinks about finishing No. 1. He obsesses over Lombardi Trophies and scoring records. Placing 10th doesn’t do anything for him.
Johnson set the bar at completing 70% of his passes, and Williams finished last in the league at 58.1%, to which Johnson said 70% is “what elite passing offenses do, and we were far from that.” Then he took Williams through every pass play from the season and showed him how 70% would’ve been possible. That also would have elevated his 90.1 passer rating, which was 22nd in the NFL.
Becoming the quarterback Johnson believes he can be is the best way for Williams to move forward. It would turn the pain of losing to the Rams into a stepping stone. What he does this season will determine whether that was as good as it gets for the Bears or the starting point for something so much better.