“Boring” usually isn’t what anyone requests from Caleb Williams.

The Bears quarterback can escape pressure, change his throwing angle and deliver a ball that leaves everyone wondering how the play survived. Those abilities helped make him the first overall pick. They remain a major reason Chicago can believe it has someone special.

Terron Armstead’s advice was to make more room for the ordinary.

The former offensive tackle, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who spent nine seasons protecting Drew Brees, believed Williams could take another step by mastering the routine responsibilities of quarterbacking. Given the talent Chicago had assembled around him, he didn’t need to supply every spectacular moment himself.

“Caleb is incredible. Elite talent, man,” Armstead told The Athletic’s Dan Wiederer. “And yet his best could be allowing others to do more of the work.”

That idea has become increasingly relevant as Williams develops in Ben Johnson’s offense. Chicago reached its bye at 7-2, with Williams showing substantial improvement before a four-interception performance against Tampa Bay interrupted the momentum. Even that difficult night ended with him helping set up Cairo Santos’ winning field goal.

The challenge is making the stretches between those defining moments more reliable.

Armstead had an unusually useful example of what that can look like. With Brees, he said, the priorities were straightforward: complete passes and avoid sacks. The production followed from repeatedly processing the defense and moving the ball where it needed to go.

For Williams, accepting that approach doesn’t require putting away his best tools. It requires recognizing when he doesn’t need them. Williams described that evolution himself during his Nov. 4 press conference.

In high school, he said, he constantly looked for shots downfield. At college, checkdowns were still a small part of his game. His rookie NFL season included too few of them and too many sacks.

Greater comfort with the playbook has helped him understand what each concept is supposed to accomplish—and when the defense has taken away the preferred answer. At that point, a short completion can be the correct ending.

That can feel underwhelming when the quarterback is capable of something extraordinary. Four yards to an available receiver won’t receive the same attention as an escape followed by a throw across the field. But four yards can keep an entire possession functional.

It preserves options for the next call, gives a playmaker an opportunity to beat a defender and reduces the need to manufacture a difficult conversion later. Johnson’s offense has enough players capable of turning a manageable opportunity into a significant gain.

The numbers suggest Williams is increasingly allowing them to do that.

According to Wiederer’s report, 53.9 percent of Williams’ passing yards this season have come after the catch, compared with 47 percent in 2025. That figure reflects several factors, including play design, blocking and the receivers’ work, but it fits the emphasis on delivering the ball and allowing others to contribute.

Offensive coordinator Press Taylor explained the approach during his Nov. 5 media session: take the bigger opportunity when it appears, and otherwise keep the ball moving through the offense’s available options.

The Tampa game demonstrated how costly departures can become. Williams acknowledged getting greedy on his first interception and identified a checkdown as the better decision. Two more interceptions came on failed attempts to throw the ball away.

Those mistakes didn’t erase his progress. They showed why the routine decisions still matter, even for someone with unusual recovery skills.

Armstead’s advice offers a useful standard for the second half. Williams can remain the quarterback who rescues a broken play while becoming more consistent at avoiding the need for rescue.

The Bears don’t need him to stop being spectacular. They have enough talent to make an ordinary completion dangerous, too.