Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and current Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is not lowering his expectations for Caleb Williams after a breakout 2025 season. Instead, he has made it clear that the pressure is only increasing for the quarterback in 2026.

Williams talked to Henry McKenna of Fox Sports about how, after the Bears lost to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round, Johnson had delivered a direct message.

“It’s going to be more difficult. I’m going to push you more,” Johnson told Williams, according to the quarterback.

“Yessir, let’s do it," Williams replied, who immediately tapped into the competitive mindset.

Williams finished the 2025 season with 3,942 passing yards, setting a new franchise record and surpassing the previous mark of 3,838 yards established by Erik Kramer in 1995. Even so, Johnson believes there is a higher standard for Williams to pursue than individual records.

Johnson also discussed how the focus for next season for Williams’ development will have to be his pass completion. After all, Williams did finish with a 58.1% completion rate, the second-worst in the league.

“We need to get the completion percentage up and we’ll look at that as we go through the cut-ups of where we can best do that," the head coach said. "That’s the real challenge for Caleb. If we do that, then we’ll be 65%, 70% completion, which is closer to where we want to be.”

A significant issue last year was Williams’ delayed decision-making in the pocket, which led to increased pressure and sacks.

If Johnson’s track record with Jared Goff is anything to go by, Williams is going to continue to progress. That spells trouble for the Lions for their matchup on Thanksgiving.

Williams And Johnson Will Be Looking For Revenge

Williams helped the Bears make the playoffs with a record of 11-6 in 2025. He orchestrated six fourth-quarter comebacks during the season and recorded 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. 

With his second season with Johnson, parallels can be drawn with Goff's development.

During Johnson’s tenure with the Lions, he helped Goff play at his best with career-best numbers of 37 touchdowns and a passer rating of 111.8. The Lions quarterback himself has praised and iterated that he has a lot of respect for him.

“He’s somebody who’s done a lot for me in my career, and I love the dude,” Goff said during a press conference after the Lions beat the Bears 52-21 last season.

Just like with Goff, the change in Williams’ output was instant. If Johnson and Williams can work together and improve his pass completion, we could see a very tight battle between the Lions and the Bears for the Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears once again will play the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field in Detroit

Will Williams show growth and a stronger performance after the 52-21 loss to the Lions? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Dhruv Vishnu Nair

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar