Caleb Williams quickly put any doubts about his comfort with the offense under the new Chicago Bears head coach, Ben Johnson, to rest. He completed 6 of 10 passes and threw a touchdown in the Bears' 38-0 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
Williams will have to get himself ready for Week 1 against NFC North rival side the Minnesota Vikings, and it's unlikely the USC product plays the final preseason game, so what he showed against the Bills is a glimpse of how far along he is in grasping Johnson's offense.
The question was whether this sample size was enough for the national media to buy into Williams' showing progress heading into Year 2 in Chicago.
Caleb Williams Gets QB Comparables
On Monday's edition of "The Herd," host Colin Cowherd sounded off on Williams' performance against the Bills, noting that what he saw was similar to a fellow quarterback in the NFC North.
"I thought he looked decisive," Cowherd said. "I thought he looked sharp. At one point, he dirtied a ball on a screen—a smart play. He got out of that, avoided a negative play… So [against the Bills], Caleb Williams actually looked a little bit like Jared Goff. He quarterbacked like Jared Goff. He dirtied the ball on screens. He got rid of it and got out of trouble. No negative plays. When he had a guy open, he hit him."
"I think Caleb Williams' comp, when I watch him, is a little Brett Favre. You've gotta let him be a little bit of a gunslinger."@colincowherd reacts to the Bears QB's preseason debut in Ben Johnson's offense. pic.twitter.com/obolMAyACb
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 18, 2025
While Cowherd made the Goff comparison, he noted that Williams doesn't play like Goff, even though Johnson might prefer that he does. Nonetheless, the FS1 host states that Williams is more of a gun slinger like another signal caller who used to play in the NFC North.
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"I think Caleb Williams' comp, when I watch him, is a little Brett Favre. You've gotta let him be a little bit of a gunslinger. You’ve gotta to let him be himself. But Brett Favre mostly played on time, played on schedule.
"He threw a lot of bad picks—you could get away with that in Favre's era. I think offensive coaching is smarter now, and turnovers are more punitive. So I think this is a marriage stylistically that is not perfect. But I know Caleb. I like Caleb. I think he's coachable."