When the moment demanded everything, Caleb Williams delivered again.
Down 21-3 at halftime of a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Williams delivered his best football with the Chicago Bears’ season on the line, refusing to fold. The result was a stunning fourth quarter 25 point surge as the Bears stormed back to defeat the Packers 31-27 and end their season.
The comeback itself was historic. But the way Williams led it has drawn inevitable comparisons to the greatest athlete Chicago has ever seen… Michael Jordan.
Williams finished the game with 361 passing yards, two fourth quarter touchdown throws, and a critical two point conversion. But the image that stuck came midway through the fourth quarter with the Bears’ season hanging in the balance.
On 4th and 8 trailing 27-16 with just over five minutes remaining, Williams escaped pressure, rolled right, and launched himself into the air as a defender dragged at his legs. While airborne, he fired a strike to second year receiver Rome Odunze to keep the comeback alive.
But what caught some eyes was that from one angle, Caleb Williams’ body position closely mirrored Michael Jordan’s iconic Jumpman silhouette.
The comparison didn’t start Saturday night
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
Earlier this season, after throwing a late interception in a loss at Lambeau Field, Caleb Williams paraphrased a famous 1997 Nike commercial in which Michael Jordan detailed the thousands of missed shots and game winners that shaped his career.
“You’re going to take those shots,” Williams said at the time. “That’s the type of mindset I have — that I’ll take those shots and I’ll roll with the punches if I do miss.”
That confidence hasn’t wavered. In fact, Caleb now owns seven fourth quarter comebacks this season including the playoffs, the most ever by a quarterback under 25 years old. His 361 passing yards against Green Bay were the most by any quarterback in a playoff debut since Matthew Stafford (who is actually leading the Chicago Bears divisional round opponent, the Rams, now) in 2011.
But perhaps most telling: From 6:51 in the second quarter to 2:59 in the fourth, the Bears’ win probability never exceeded 25% At one point, it dropped to just three percent. Williams never played like he knew that… And Chicago has seen that look before.
Not a GOAT… Yet
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
Now no one is ready to place Caleb Williams in any all time conversations yet. Those comparisons are earned over time, not handed out after a hot stretch.
I mean, Michael Jordan left Chicago with six NBA championships and five MVPs. Williams on the other hand has only just won his first playoff game.
But what does make the comparison understandable, however, is the trait they share… The clutch factor. Cause Williams has been at his best in the biggest moments when the lights are brightest, the same quality that once defined Jordan.
At 24 years old, Caleb Williams is only scratching the surface of what he can become. And if his early confidence and clutch gene are any indication, Chicago may be watching the very beginning of something special.
Caleb Williams Draws Comparison to Chicago GOAT Michael Jordan