Caleb Williams’ latest heroic comeback effort propelled the Bears to their sixth win in their last seven games on Sunday.
It also prompted his coach, Ben Johnson, to compare the quarterback to a famous magician.
“He looks like Houdini there in the backfield because it’s a really good performance that they’ve given a lot of teams passes,” Johnson said after Chicago’s 24-20 win over the New York Giants, via ESPN. “There were times where he’s trying to get away and make things happen. He had a couple of throws down the field, but again over 50 yards rushing for the second week in a row, and I thought in the fourth quarter there, we really had to have that as a shot in the arm to win this ballgame. So credit to him.”
Credit is undoubtedly due to Williams, who spent a significant portion of a snowy Sunday afternoon eluding the Giants’ running game that, as Johnson noted, has caused major problems for previous opponents. The going certainly wasn’t easy for Williams either, which was evident in his final passing streak: 20 for 36, 220 yards and one touchdown.
However, the numbers do not tell the whole story. On multiple occasions, Williams broke the pocket and scrambled before launching off-piste rockets down the court to open up targets. Twice his receivers fumbled and/or dropped accurate passes in the end zone. The usually reliable Olamide Zaccheaus single contained at least three drops.
As the game rallied late and Chicago’s odds dropped to as low as 6 percent (after Williams narrowly missed an open Rome Odunze with less than six minutes to play), it looked as if the Bears would walk off the Soldier Field turf bemoaning their missed opportunities. That’s when Williams activated his clutch gene and connected with tight end Colston Loveland for a 20 gain. A few plays later, Williams went on a 29-yard scamper that ended just outside the end zone and set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Odunze to cut the deficit to 20-17.
The rapid production was just the latest example of Williams’ continued development as Chicago’s quarterback, which has seen him embrace opportunities to run when he’s spent time scouting the field.
“I think he’s been given the green light to go ahead and use his legs more because teams are playing two-man, quarterback and man-to-man, so he can just get out there with his legs and be another weapon,” wide receiver DJ Moore said.