As the Chicago Bears prepare to face the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, Caleb Williams was asked the obvious question: Now that he’s winning and playing meaningful football, has he become more demanding as a leader? And his answer spoke volumes about his evolution.

“I would say I have gained more confidence in the offense and knowing exactly what and where and all these different things,” Williams said ahead of Sunday’s matchup. “And then just the belief and trust I have in them to be able to do their job is paramount for us. And sometimes you have to hold everybody accountable, and I get accountable every day, and I want to win these games and be in these big moments.”

In simple terms, Williams is talking about clarity. He understands the offense now: What it’s trying to do, where everyone fits, and how each assignment connects. A year ago, that level of confidence would have sounded like a fictional tale. The Bears’ offensive line struggled badly, and Williams was sacked a franchise-high 68 times, the third-most in NFL history.

Fast forward to his sophomore season, and the contrast is striking. Williams has command of the offense, and the results support it. Following Chicago’s dramatic Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers, the Bears recorded their seventh fourth-quarter comeback of the season. Two of them came against Green Bay alone.

In that playoff game, Chicago trailed 21–3 at halftime and 21–6 entering the fourth quarter. Then everything flipped. The Bears outscored the Packers 25–6 in the final frame, sealing their first playoff win in 15 years. As Williams walked off Soldier Field, his postgame message echoed what he just addressed: Trust and belief.

“True belief,” he said. “Belief. That’s all you need. You got to believe in the coaches that they’re gonna call the right play at the right time. You got belief in the players on the field that you’re gonna make the right play at the right time.”

That belief has translated into production. Under Johnson, the Bears have finished as a top-10 offense in nearly every major category. But trust and belief aren’t the whole story. Accountability has been just as central to Chicago’s turnaround. After his 5-12 rookie season, Williams wanted to be coached hard.

That mindset played a role when the Bears began their head-coaching search. And when Johnson arrived, he made one thing clear: Williams would be critiqued the same way as everyone else. Johnson set a standard that applied to the entire roster, from fringe players to the franchise quarterback. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent summed it up simply:

“Anybody can get [disciplined]. I’ve seen everybody get it. I’ve seen Caleb get it. It can be anything. In one of the first team meetings, [Williams] had a thing of food, and Ben caused a scene in front of everybody, but nobody’s brought food in there the whole season. So it definitely works.”

That was before the 2025 season even started. Now, the Bears are deep into the postseason, and the themes Williams keeps returning to (trust, belief, accountability) no longer sound theoretical. They look like habits built months ago, finally showing up when it matters most. The challenge ahead, though, is real. This is the Rams. And even with Williams playing the best football of his young career, Los Angeles is already preparing to disrupt everything Chicago has built heading into Sunday.

Jared Verse shared the Rams’ plans against Caleb Williams

Jared Verse knows exactly what stands between the Rams and an NFC Championship appearance: slowing down Caleb Williams. And according to the second-year linebacker and former Defensive Rookie of the Year, that doesn’t necessarily mean putting the quarterback on the ground. Instead, Verse explained that the priority is disrupting Williams’ throwing motion.

“You’ve got to keep rushing, you’ve got to keep running, and once you get your hands around him, you can’t fully grab him, aim for his arm,” Verse said. “You have to aim for his arm, try to mess his throw up a little bit. It can’t just be like getting him off the spot. Running quarterbacks, even if they’re off the spot, they’re still liable to make any type of play.”

That approach makes sense when you look at what Williams and the Bears have become under Ben Johnson. Chicago averaged 25.9 points and 369.2 yards per game this season, ranking ninth and sixth in the league. They were especially balanced, ranking third in rushing at 144.5 yards per game and 10th in passing at 225.1. Simply forcing Williams to move isn’t enough when the offense can still function at full speed.

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And the Rams clearly aren’t ignoring Williams’ efficiency either. During the regular season, he completed 330 of 568 passes for 3,942 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt, with a 27-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Add seven fourth-quarter comeback wins to the résumé, and it’s easy to see why Verse is focused less on sacks and more on timing and disruption. But we have to wait till Sunday to see if their strategy is going to pay off. Stay Tuned!