Bear Digest

The Key Caleb Williams Ability Bears Lacked in Justin Fields

Bears GM Ryan Poles saw in Caleb Williams the ability to compete and win, and close games in the final seconds like Michael Jordan.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams' ability to compete at crunch time and close ranked high on the strengths GM Ryan Poles saw.
Caleb Williams' ability to compete at crunch time and close ranked high on the strengths GM Ryan Poles saw. / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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It was very early in the Justin Fields era when the Bears had a bit of foreshadowing.

In fact, it was his very first meaningful appearance in a game.

Fields made a brief appearance as a spot player against the Rams in the 2021 opener but mainly as a runner. Fields had to bring the team home against Cincinnati in the second game after Andy Dalton's knee injury, and had relied mostly on teammates, his legs and the defense to pile up a 20-3 lead over Joe Burrow and Co. Fields had only 60 yards passing.

The game suddenly tightened when Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase for a 42-yard TD with 4:39 to play, but the Bears still led by 10. Fields followed on the next drive by throwing right into coverage blindly over the middle and getting picked off by linebacker Logan Wilson, who returned it to the 7.

Tee Higgins' TD catch got the Bengals within 20-17 in a game the Bears once had in their back pockets. It took two tough runs by David Montgomery for the Bears to kill the clock, but Fields had given an inkling of how he would close games.

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He didn't.

If you give him a win for that close game with Cincinnati—a close one he created—the Bears went 6-19 in games when they either led or were within a touchdown and conversion at some point in the fourth quarter. 

He lacked the closer gene. Sure, there wasn't a lot of support at times, but DJ Moore isn't exactly the Venus de Milo. And Fields always had good running backs as support to go with Cole Kmet. Darnell Mooney was good enough as a receiver to get a $39 million contract from Atlanta.

Fields couldn't finish. It wasn't always his fault. The unfortunate loss in Pittsburgh when the defense collapsed, the game with Denver, there are several like these. They still don't put a dent in 6-19.

The Bears think they have a quarterback now who is capable of closing tight games in Caleb Williams.

"Yeah, you look for poise," GM Ryan Poles said. "Guys that the game kinda slows down for them in those critical moments. That they're capable of making those special throws when you need them the most, especially down the stretch. That clutch part is really, really, really good, and you need that to win games.

"For how many close games we have in this league, you've gotta have guys who can finish, especially in two-minute drills and things like that."

Part of that is just being able to handle adversity. That's why it is ironic how Greg McElroy, the ESPN analyst, claimed Williams hadn't faced enough tough situations to translate to NFL success. The Bears saw exactly the opposite in their analysis of Williams after the 7-5 2023 USC campaign. They saw a closer who had been forged in the fire of a difficult senior season.

"Yeah, we had conversations about that," Poles said.

USC had its offensive line and entire defense collapse, and Williams wasn't exactly surrounded by awe-inspiring skill position players. His best receivers went in the seventh round of the draft. It was a tough time.

"And I think that's the best thing that could’ve happened to him, because you're going to have that in the NFL," Poles said. "You're going to have the down weeks, months and you’re going to have to find a way to get through them. You're going to have to tap into different resources to get through them and get back to playing at a high standard.

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"So I think going through that adversity helped him to really find that edge, but also recover when things don't go well."

It's not an opinion held only by the Bears. Williams' high school coach at Gonzaga, Randy Trivers, told the CHGO Bears Podcast that it's a trait he noticed at an early age.

"Hewants that stage, like that dude who wore 23 in your city that, in those moments, he wanted to be shooting the rock," Trivers told CHGO. "And that's a place and a space where a lot of athletes, they might tell you sitting on the couch, yeah, I would love to take the last shot or throw the last pass or be at the plate for the last at-bat but in reality that's a tough place to be. But Calb Williams, what the city is going to love, is he really, truly desires to be in those positions. "

Trivers saw the thing manifest itself in a state championship and a miracle comeback win over De Matha. He described the effect of this on the team.


"And then knowing that as a teammate, as a fan, as  a coach, you always know you have a chance," Trivers said. "There's a feeling in your heart and in your mind that if there's time on the clock and this guy has the rock, we've got a chance, a real chance."

Fields had plenty of talent but it rarely showed with the game on the line.

The Bears believe they just drafted someone who can show this.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven



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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.