Caleb Williams didn't have his best statistical day in Minnesota, managing only 193 yards passing and no touchdowns. There were some missed opportunities, both from his throws and his receivers dropping balls. The inconsistency remains an ongoing headache. Still, the Chicago Bears quarterback did enough to get the job done. Most people who reviewed his tape probably expected an up-and-down showing as the stats reflect. They quickly discovered that Williams was much better than they realized.
That included two former quarterbacks, Dan Orlovsky and Chase Daniel. Both came away saying the same thing. Williams accumulated several "hidden yards" in the game. For those who don't know, hidden yards refer to yards gained or lost through non-traditional means. In a quarterback's case, they often refer to sacks avoided, throwing the ball away, and adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
Williams did that frequently in Minnesota. He was sacked twice but avoided four or five others. He had two clear decisions where he threw the ball away and frequently made smart adjustments at the line to combat the Vikings' relentless blitzes.
Caleb Williams has learned an art that many quarterbacks never can.
In the absence of helping your team with big plays, the best thing you can do is minimize the damage. If you can't win the game for them, make sure you don't lose it. That is why his elusiveness and careful game management should've been appreciated a little more. Even Ben Johnson said Caleb Williams had a solid afternoon, and we know the Bears' head coach does not pay lip service to players. We all want Williams to rack up huge stats and prove to the world that he's elite. Unfortunately, getting to that point was never going to be easy.
That doesn't mean what we've seen is bad. As Orlovsky and Daniel said, Williams is fast becoming Chicago's problem-solver. That is not a label this organization could place on its quarterback going back decades. Williams easily could've thrown caution to the wind and tried going crazy in that game. He probably would've hit on more big plays, but also would've had some costly interceptions. Instead, he opted to play it safe in what was clearly going to be a close game.
