Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completed 58.1% of his passes in the 2025 season, ranking last among qualifying quarterbacks. During the same season, Williams set the Chicago Bears franchise record in passing yards and led the team to seven fourth-quarter comebacks.

The Bears finished the 2025 season with 11 wins and reached the NFC divisional playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams. FOX broadcaster and former offensive lineman Mark Schlereth assessed Williams's performance in a podcast interview. Schlereth said, "He makes big-time plays, but is he a good quarterback? No, he's not a good quarterback because he doesn't play on schedule."

Schlereth described scenarios where Williams's playmaking led to wins despite early deficits. "Watch how many times they get [late in games] and they're down 21-7. Then he holds the ball, scrambles around, makes three big throws and all of a sudden they win 24-21," Schlereth said. He added, "That's not playing quarterback at an efficient level. That's being a dynamic playmaker. So at this point, Caleb Williams isn't a good quarterback."

Williams addressed his completion percentage, stating, "Obviously I want to get that up, get the completion percentage up, but some of the things that I do on the field, it negatively impacts that." He continued, "But we'll get it up this year just to shut everybody up and help everybody to understand." Bears coach Ben Johnson has targeted a 70% completion rate for Williams.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher offered a different perspective on Williams's play. Urlacher said the 2025 season was "awesome" and "fun," noting that Johnson had an immediate impact on the team. He specifically linked Johnson's decision to join the Bears to Williams, stating, "You think that with a coach of his caliber, he would have an impact, maybe not that soon and right away, I think that's why he wanted the job so bad, because of Caleb (Williams)."

Williams is the cover athlete for the video game Madden 27, marking the first time a Chicago Bears player has been featured on a North American video game cover since Urlacher was on NFL 2K3. Williams gifted an autographed jersey to Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, on July 4, 2026.