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Did Justin Fields' breakout game turn up the pressure on Caleb Williams?

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The 2025 NFL season has been an incredible rollercoaster of emotion for fans of the Chicago Bears. It started off as poorly as possible, with back-to-back losses against division opponents, including a 52-21 shellacking at the hands of the Detroit Lions. The Bears proceeded to rattle off four consecutive wins, including impressive victories over the red hot Dallas Cowboys and arguably their biggest non-divisional rival, the Washington Commanders.

The team built up a lot of goodwill with the fans during that win streak, but it appears to have completely evaporated after Sunday's dismal performance. In an ugly loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Caleb Williams was ice cold according to his Pro Football Focus grade as he let Tyler Huntley, fresh off of Baltimore's practice squad, outduel him.

Williams was far from Chicago's only problem on Sunday. Indeed, the Bears' loss was littered with the same old problems that have plagued them all year. But Williams was drafted to be a generational franchise quarterback and another dud should be deeply troubling for Bears fans.

Caleb Williams outshined by rivals, peers, and now his predecessor

This atrocious performance, along with last week's dud against the Saints, have dug quite the hole for Williams. Pressure is mounting on him to turn things around as Chicago Bears fans begin to panic. Luckily, next week's matchup against the woeful Bengals offers a great 'get-right' opportunity for Williams and the entire team, but it comes with a catch.

Not only will fans expect Williams, the former first-overall pick, to look great against this sloppy Bengals defense, but there will be added pressure to perform thanks to Williams' predecessor, Justin Fields. Fields just delivered the New York Jets their first win of the season by putting up one of the best games of his career against the Cincinnati Bengals, culminating in an epic game-winning drive.

His numbers are hardly an MVP-level performance (21-of-32 passing for 244 yards and a touchdown), but the fact that Fields looked in command and capable against the Bengals means that should Williams lay another egg against that very same defense, some extremely uncomfortable conversations will be had regarding Williams and Fields, and who the Bears quarterback should be.

Williams must leave no doubt after Week 9

To be upfront, those conversations would be ridiculous. The Bears absolutely made the right choice in trading Fields and drafting Williams. Yes, Fields looked good on Sunday but it was just recently that he ended a full game with -10 net passing yards. I'm happy for Fields and what this win meant for him as a human, but as a player he was never going to be the guy for Chicago.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Williams, if he is the quarterback Bears fans believe he is, should have a banner day against a bad Cincinnati defense. But you can bet that the pressure is going to be dialed up to 11. He may have felt 'no pressure' entering his second season, but you can bet Williams will be feeling it next Sunday.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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