Caleb Williams makes promise after Bears squander lead, lose to Vikings

While Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy produced an epic comeback to guide his club to a 27-24 win at the rival Chicago Bears on Monday night, second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was responsible for a second-half performance he'd likely prefer to forget. 

Following the defeat, Williams shared why he is confident that he and first-year head coach Ben Johnson will help the Bears positively bounce back from all that went wrong at Soldier Field in front of a prime-time television audience. 

Caleb Williams discusses "growing process" under Ben Johnson

"I think there was a lot of good there — our communication," Williams explained, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "[Johnson] was getting the plays in fast. Being able to get out of the huddle, we need to be better with that. Being able to get up to the line, make checks. I think it's a growing process. It's going to keep growing from here. The start, this is the start, but definitely not the end. We'll keep growing. We'll keep being passionate about this offense, him and I, passionate about this team and winning."

According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Williams completed 13-of-16 passes in the first half to help Chicago take a 10-6 lead into the break. The Bears then added to their advantage when cornerback Nahshon Wright returned an interception for a touchdown roughly two minutes into the third quarter. 

However, Williams completed just eight of his final 19 pass attempts against Minnesota. Fishbain mentioned that Williams' 42.1 percent second-half completion percentage had him ranked 28th in the league in that category for the opening week of the season. 

Vikings leave Ben Johnson looking for answers

"I thought he started off really well," Johnson said about Williams after the loss. "I don't know, I'll have to go back and look at exactly where those incompletions came in. It certainly felt like it dried up a little bit. Probably a credit to [Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores] and the Vikings, as well, making some adjustments on their end. Some things tightened up, as well."

Williams' struggles throughout the summer generated headlines and sparked concerns among Chicago fans who fear that the Bears made a mistake by selecting Williams instead of Jayden Daniels with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Of course, Daniels earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors while guiding the Washington Commanders to this year's NFC Championship Game. 

Williams and Johnson will have to ignore such takes as the Bears prepare to play at the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Lions suffered a 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.