With or without Jayden Daniels, Sunday will have a personal factor for Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears are fresh off a bye week and sit at 4-2 overall. The storylines will undoubtedly circle around the availability of Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
He's listed as week-to-week, but the idea of the No. 1 overall pick vs. the No. 2 overall pick is insatiable. This weekend's game was already flexed from the noon hour to the 3 p.m. window to give it more viewership on CBS.
It's a big game for the Bears. It's also a little personal for Caleb Williams.
This Sunday will also be a homecoming for the Bears' rookie quarterback.
"I haven't been back other than I think one or two times," Williams said.
Williams said he's already used up all of his ticket allotment when it comes to bringing family and friends out to Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
Maryland is Williams' home state, even though he played his high school football in the Washington D.C. area.
According to the Washington Post, Williams was raised Bowie, Maryland, but moved into a Northwest D.C. apartment close to the campus at Gonzaga College High School.
Williams lived in that apartment by himself as a high school student to shorten the commute. That's something that isn't lost on Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
"I just think the maturity level was just earlier that way," Eberflus said. "The experiences he's been through has made him what he is today. That's a really experienced, more mature type of young man that he is."
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 06: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears throws a touchdown pass to DJ Moore #2 (not pictured) against the Carolina Panthers during the first quarter at Soldier Field on October 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by
That maturity, formed from his early days in high school rising to become one of the best prep football players in the country, has helped Williams early on in his NFL career.
In his first three weeks of the season, Williams had a 65.3 passer rating as the Bears started off 1-2. Between Weeks 4 to 7, Williams' has posted a 122.8 passer rating.
The growth is evident, but it's a result of multiple things. The first is getting used to playing at the NFL level. After that, it's making adjustments that are needed off of that.
"His reps, exposures of NFL defenses, of our offense and then really the continuity with the receivers, getting timing down with all those guys, and he's been able to do a really good job of mixing it up in terms of who he's going to week-to-week," Eberflus said. "There'll be targets with this guy, targets with that guy, especially situationally, he's always got to adjust and change that as you go because they'll focus on a certain guy in certain situations."
In that time, the Bears' rookie also found his voice among a roster of veteran players that have earned their status either with the Bears or around the league.
"He had to grow to where he can like tell everybody what's going on in the huddle and why we're doing it," Bears wide receiver DJ Moore said. "Certain things. If he sees something that he doesn't like or he'll tell us like, 'Hey, make sure it's like this,' so we're on the same page."
Williams has been on the same page with his receivers for the last three games, throwing seven touchdowns against one interception. It wasn't a simple development. It took offensive meetings with coaches and coordinators.
But, the progress is there. The growth is evident. That's the maturity of Caleb Williams.
"He had to grow to that," Moore said.
Chicago Bears get mixed news on injuries to their defensive back room on Wednesday
There is good news is reserve defensive back Terell Smith is back practicing and so is cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Two other starters in the defensive back field won't practice Wednesday, however.
For the foreseeable future, Williams will most likely be linked to Washington's Daniels.
Both were Heisman Trophy winners. Daniels is piloting Williams' hometown team with a coach in Kliff Kingsbury, who oversaw Williams' final season at USC.
Quarterbacks going No. 1 overall and No. 2 overall in their respective NFL Drafts has happened five times since 2012. No. 1 and No. 2 have played each other as rookies three times since 2012: Bryce Young vs. CJ Stroud in 2023, Trevor Lawrence vs. Zach Wilson in 2021 and Jameis Winston vs. Marcus Mariota in 2015.
Coincidentally, Mariota will be the starting quarterback for Washington if Daniels can't play.
Williams doesn't care about No. 1 vs. No. 2, however. He stressed that his job is to win football games on Thursdays, Sundays or Mondays, regardless of who the opposing quarterback is.
"To come out with the win is going to be most important," he said.
Still, for Williams on Sunday, the personal pride in playing in his hometown will be something he relishes in.
"Being able to go back and share the experience," Williams said. "It's going be great, going to be fun."