Caleb

Williams

Loveland’s role in the Chicago passing attack grew steadily in the back half of his rookie season and peaked in the postseason, with Loveland shredding the Packers in the Wild Card Round for eight catches and 137 yards. “He’s going to be a weapon for a long time,” head coach Ben Johnson said. Loveland’s route tree expanded in the final couple months of the season, Wiederer said, as Bears coaches and Caleb Williams trusted him as the clear No. 1 pass catcher in the run-first Chicago offense. Loveland should be considered a candidate to lead all tight ends in fantasy scoring next season.

Williams and the Bears appeared to be setting the stage for yet another comeback in this one. Facing a fourth-and-four with under 30 seconds left on the game clock, Williams dropped back and found himself immediately under duress. After dropping back over 25 yards beyond the original line of scrimmage, and with three defenders in his face, Williams heaved a perfectly thrown ball off his back foot into the end zone for Cole Kmet, who secured the pass for a 14-yard touchdown to force overtime. An errant pass on what appeared to be a miscommunication between Williams and DJ Moore resulted in an interception that ended the Bears’ only overtime possession, as the Rams went on to capitalize on the turnover with a Harrison Mevis 42-yard field goal to end the game and the Bears’ season. Williams thrived in his first season under head coach Ben Johnson, turning in multiple highlight-reel throws will pulling off an NFL record seven comeback wins. His final regular season line of 3,942-27-7 set new career highs, and he added another 77-388-3 on the ground. With plenty of young weapons already locked in for next season, Williams should continue to improve in 2026 with another year of experience under his belt and more time to learn under Johnson.

What a comeback. The Bears trailed 21-3 at the end of the first half, but it was all Chicago in the second half, and Williams deserves much of the credit. The 2024 first-overal pick did throw a couple of costly picks — both on fourth down — but he made some outstanding throws to get the Bears back into the game, and he completed the comeback with a touchdown throw to DJ Moore from 25-yards out late in the fourth. Williams and the Bears will be playing at home next week, but their opponent — the Rams or the Eagles — won’t be determined until Sunday.

The Bears failed to score through three quarters after gaining only four first downs in the first half. They would eventually break through in the fourth quarter to avoid being shut out at Soldier Field for the first time since 1982, taking on an additional score and two-point conversion with just over five minutes remaining to draw the game to an unlikely tie. Jared Goff and the Lions did their jobs in the two-minute offense to steal the victory away from a Bears team that has experienced no shortage of late-game magic this season. The Bears maintained the No. 2 seed in the NFC following a loss by the Eagles, meaning they’ll host a familiar opponent in the Packers in the Wildcard Round next weekend. Williams will need to buck this recent trend of poor performance early in games if they want to avoid a one-and-done postseason.

This defense in this game went off the rails in a hurry, with each team reaching desperation mode from the first offensive play from scrimmage as they battled it out for the chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC in Week 18. The Bears won the coin toss and deferred, returning a pick-six for a touchdown on the first play. The two teams would then trade blows throughout the first half, becoming the first two teams to each score three or more touchdowns in the first 18 minutes of an NFL game since at least 1970. Chicago gave up a touchdown with just under five minutes remaining to fall behind by four points, getting the football back with enough time to march the field and get into scoring position. The drive eventually culminated with the ball on the three and five seconds remaining, time for one final play in regulation. San Francisco’s defense held on as Williams’ pass fell short and incomplete as he drifted away from the rush, marking the end of one of the games of the season. Williams and the Bears remains the No. 2 seed in the NFC after beating the Eagles earlier this season, although they’ll need to beat the Lions in Week 18 to preserve that position.

Williams and the Bears managed just nine offensive points through the first 58 minutes of the game, but an onside kick recovery with less than two minutes to go kick-started one of the more memorable comebacks we will see this season. Williams came up clutch late in the game, completing 6-of-8 passes for 53 yards on the Bears’ final possession in regulation, and capping the drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to rookie UDFA Jahdae Walker. After the Packers’ turnover on downs on the first possession of overtime, Williams again came up clutch. On the fourth play of the Bears’ first overtime drive, Williams found DJ Moore in single coverage downfield, and hit him with a beautifully thrown 46-yard strike to end the game and propel the Bears to a comfortable two-game lead in the NFC North. Williams struggled for much of this game, but the late-heroics were a prime example of what made him the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. With his Bears now sitting at 11-4, Williams will look to push his team to a 12th win next week against the 49ers. He’ll be a mid-QB2 in the fantasy championships next week.

Despite facing a difficult matchup in one of the coldest games ever played at Soldier Field, Williams cruised to 242 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Browns. Late in the first quarter, Williams ran play action and found DJ Moore in the back of the end zone for a three-yard score. In the second half, Williams rolled to his right and found Moore again for a 22-yard touchdown. The 24-year-old quarterback threw across his body and threaded the needle between two defenders on the second touchdown. The throw was as impressive as the decision to make it was head-scratching. Williams will be back in the QB2 mix at home against the Packers in Week 16.

It was an up-and-down day for Williams, who started the game 1-of-7 as a passer with a grand total of two yards. The Bears had one first down on three drives and managed just three points by the end of the second quarter. He sailed routine passes and struggled to get much going outside of check-downs. Williams loosened up in the third quarter and tossed a tight-window throw to Olamide Zacheaus in the end zone to score on the opening drive of the second half. He stayed hot on the next two drives, putting up 10 more points to get his team within striking distance on their final drive. On fourth-and-one in the red zone, Ben Johnson drew up a play-action shot into the end zone for Cole Kmet. Scrambling to his left, Williams attempted a jump-pass that floated well short of Kmet and into the hands of Packers corner Keisean Nixon for a game-losing interception. The Bears have made an effort to lean on their ground game in recent weeks. Williams’ passing volume, in turn, has been muted. He hasn’t completed more than 20 passes in a game since Week 8. Expect a similar approach versus the Browns in Week 15.

To be fair to Williams, the wind was clearly a factor, as several throws sailed late that looked to be completions. On the other hand, there were two throws that should have led to touchdowns if the second year signal-caller would have just set his feet. The interception was a screen pass that was blown up, while the touchdown showed off Williams’ impressive ability to go “off schedule” on a perfect lob to Cole Kmet while rolling out to give Chicago a 24-9 lead. He’ll be back in business in Week 14 against the Packers in Green Bay. Should be a good one.

Williams’ third three-score effort of the season came in a game where he had some of his typical bad misses, but also more than enough stick ‘em throws down the field. Really spreading the ball around, he found four pass catchers for at least 3/46, though DJ Moore was his No. 1 option, churning up 5/64/2 on seven looks. It was easily the best connection all season between a wideout and quarterback who have struggled to get on the same page this year. Williams did have one notable lowlight, holding the ball with one hand as he was stripped by T.J. Watt for a fumble-six in his own end zone. Bad, though Williams’ positive plays continue to greatly out-number the negatives this season. The Bears are on a four-game winning streak and 8-1 over their past nine, but they and their quarterback will be put to a severe Week 13 test when they visit the Eagles on Friday afternoon. Matchup-sensitive in fantasy football, Williams is best treated as a QB2 for that one.