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Caleb Williams was the best player on either side of the field (for either team) in the Chicago Bears' 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
He showed the Bears faithful what they've been missing over the past month and continued cementing his status as one of the league's most promising young quarterbacks. Williams also got everyone involved, as eight players caught at least two passes today.
Some questioned whether Williams could maintain his upward trajectory with his hamstring being less than 100%. He answered those questions emphatically today, completing 30 of 36 attempts for 305 yards and a touchdown. He did so while rushing for only three yards, tied for the third-fewest of his career.
Notably, Williams also went 26/26 when the Falcons defense failed to get pressure on him. That mark set the record for the most attempts without an incompletion since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.
The fact that the Bears offensive line only gave up ten pressures against Atlanta's defensive front is a testament to their performance (although many of Williams unpressured looks were roll-outs). However, that fact isn't nearly as impressive as the Bears' signal-caller batting a thousand.
It's also worth noting that four of Williams' six incompletions were intentionally thrown away. He only had two incompletions where his intended target didn't come down with the pass (and one was the result of Colston Loveland seemingly getting ahead of his skis in the end zone).
Some of Caleb Williams' best performances have come with Tom Brady in the booth, as he also called their Week 3 matchup against Dallas and both regular-season contests against Green Bay last season.
Brady named Williams the Player of the Game in two of those contests (against the Cowboys and in their Week 16 matchup against Green Bay). That trend continued today, as the seven-time Super Bowl winner once again spoke to Williams after the contest.
Caleb Williams always performs when @TomBrady is in the building.
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 18, 2026
The @ChicagoBears QB is the #LFG Player of the Game.@CALEBcsw @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/V2bYXFuHen
Brady obviously knows quality quarterback play when he sees it, as he's arguably the greatest to ever step on the field. As if the eye test and gaudy passing numbers weren't enough of an indication, Brady's consistent praise for Williams (he specifically said this was the best performance of his career during the broadcast) certainly cements the fact that the Bears got a good one.
Williams' 72.5% completion percentage currently leads the league. Another question answered emphatically.
The Bears will only go as far as Williams can take them, and his triumphant return will surely strike fear in the hearts of other NFC hopefuls. So will the fact that he was only focused on the negatives after the contest.
"I missed a couple things, especially there was one late in the game [where] I should've went to Rome [Odunze] and I went in the opposite direction," Williams said. "Things like that, I missed another route that I felt like I should've hit.. We'll go back and look in the mirror and figure out what we need to fix and get better at."