What a difference 10 yards make.
When Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears into the red zone, half the time something goes awry. From 20 yards in, the Bears have a success rate of just 50% — they convert half of those opportunities into touchdowns.
“Better execution from all of us,” Williams said. “That’s what (the) red zone comes down to. The cornerbacks and safeties and linebackers (of other teams) don’t have to drop as much and as far, so it comes down to better execution.
“Landmarks, me being on point with that — speaking of pass game, mainly.”
That’s where the other 10 yards come in. From 10 yards in, Williams is 5-for-5 passing with four touchdowns. Another two scores have come on Williams rushes.
The running game “just comes down to execution also,” Williams said. “We’re dialing those things in and we’ve been pretty good, but we can be a whole lot better with the players we have.”
The Bears pass on just 40.6% of their red-zone plays, the fifth-lowest rate in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. Coach Ben Johnson said success in the red zone starts with running the ball efficiently, but he still wants more from the passing game.
“We can do a better job throughout the week, just making sure where we all see it the same,” he said. “Normally that stuff goes in at the end of the week, and so you only get one rep of it and it’s a little bit newer, particularly some of those designer concepts.
He added that sometimes defenses are in the right coverage, taking away the primary option, and Williams hasn’t progressed to the next read quickly enough.
“That’s something that Caleb’s learning, and I think he’ll be better there,” Johnson said.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks to pass as he rolls out of the pocket in the first quarter against the Saints on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Where his teammates can get better is not shooting themselves in the foot with penalties.
“You have a lot of negative (crap) down there: center-QB exchange, false starts, just stuff that puts us behind the eight ball,” right tackle Darnell Wright told the Tribune. “That’s (on) everybody, me included.”
During Sunday’s 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Bears made their first trip to the red zone early in the first quarter and faced a third-and-4 at the 6-yard line. Williams fumbled the snap from Drew Dalman and Dalman recovered. The Bears settled for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
On fourth-and-1 in the third quarter, the Bears set up for a run, but Dalman was tagged with a false-start penalty. The Bears opted for another field goal.
Cole Kmet’s false start on third-and-2 at the Saints 10 could’ve ruined another red-zone opportunity, but Williams’ 9-yard connection with Colston Loveland picked up the first down. The drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Kyle Monangai.
“It’s just not hurting ourselves,” Loveland said. “We’ve gone down there a couple times, did some things to hurt ourselves. When we just stay on track and play our ball, we’re hard to stop. So eliminating the mistakes. That’s it.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/23/chicago-bears-caleb-williams-red-zone/
