CHICAGO BEARS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 21, 2025

Caleb Williams

Bears - 31, Cowboys - 14

Q. You talked last week about finding consistency and you said it's something you all have to do day in and day out.

CALEB WILLIAMS: Yep.

Q. Having the week you all had and winning this game, what do you think was different and what worked?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I think it starts with practice and how consistent we were in practice. The preparation, when we're actually between the white lines, and going out there and competing versus each other and having these tough practices.

And it builds the confidence to go out and have the game like we had today. The consistency and things like that, that becomes a thing when you can -- you have a day like today and then you can come back and do it again and again.

So it's something that we have to work on and keep striving for every day in practice and obviously we get out here in a game.

Q. On the flea flicker, when you wait for the return pitch from D'Andre, what's going through your mind (indiscernible)?

CALEB WILLIAMS: Something we practiced all week. We underthrew -- I underthrew Luther a couple of times and either missed it -- and just building the belief and confidence with the guys, just communicating with them.

I told Luther, you won't outrun me in the game, just run. They did a great job, the O line, the flea flicker is a really long play. So, for them to be able to hold up and be able to allow D'Andre to toss the ball back to me, it kind of did a free throw kind of floater kind of thing. And after that, just let it rip and let Luther go make a play.

Q. When there's a delay of the ball coming out like that coming back to you from D'Andre, how do you get it out so quickly and be somewhat accurate?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I think it's God-given ability, I guess, to be able to get it out that fast. I don't know. Just a belief and confidence in Luther being down there.

In those moments you're kind of taught to kind of peek at the defense before you get the ball. I peeked a few times while the ball was coming to me. Like I said, just throw it out there as far as I can and let Luther go make the play.

Q. What did you see when you peeked? How well did it work --

CALEB WILLIAMS: It worked well. The guys did a great job, wide receivers-wise, they did a great job lulling the DBs and safeties to sleep. After that, it's head down, run and then look up.

Q. What's it like being part of that 19-play drive?

CALEB WILLIAMS: That was probably my longest drive I've maybe had -- maybe 20 may be my longest. But it was tiring. I was hoping that he would call a pass play so we could try and go score in the drive.

But we end up running the ball well, getting that going and obviously being able to find the strike right there and score. It was awesome.

Q. On the touchdown throw, you see him slip right away or what is your view there?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I ended up dropping five-step drop on that. And eyes are down the middle for a little bit. When I peeked over after my first couple steps, I ended up seeing No. 7 slipping. And Rome threw his hand up, did a great job with that. And we were on the same page. Just get him the ball and let him go score.

Q. What was your feeling personally four touchdowns and leading a victory?

CALEB WILLIAMS: It's great. I think it builds confidence within the whole team. I've been able to see offense, defense, offense, and being able to score how many points we've scored, and defense getting us however many turnovers we had. And that's such an explosive offense as you all know.

Then also on special teams stop there, their guy No. 9, he's one of the most explosive players in that position.

So I think on all three phases, I think it builds confidence for us. It builds confidence for us as a team and as an organization to be able to go out here, win these games. I feel confident about who we've got on this field.

Q. (Inaudible) first time in your career, walk away.

CALEB WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's pretty cool. All kudos to the big boys up front. They've been working their tail off. And I know we had four, one of those other weeks, last week. And the game got way from us. You start having to throw the ball down field and have to hold the ball a little longer than you want to.

Being able to get the ball out fast, obviously, that plays a part for me, being able to get the ball out, tire the defense out and run the ball well and not be predictable in those situations. And then from there it's being able to just to be able to go out execute the plays and deal.

Q. Were you surprised that Ben decided to go for it on fourth down?

CALEB WILLIAMS: No. Nope.

Q. After, two weeks ago you guys, the Vikings come back on you. What did that drive you to kind of push down whatever sort of concerns may have stemmed from last week?

CALEB WILLIAMS: No concerns. That team that had that happen, or the team that came back against us. Great team and things like that. But this week there wasn't any concern.

We got all the belief in the room and in all of our rooms and in this organization. I think it's us being able to focus on us and focus on what we needed to be able to do out there and execute lays.

Q. How does it feel to have the game you did going directly against Matt Eberflus, the opposing defensive play caller?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I don't think it really necessarily matters who when you are able to have a game as effective as we were able to have on offense. It feels great, to be honest, whether it was Matt or it was any other defensive coordinator, Flo or anybody else that we played or anybody else that we're going to play.

When you're able to go out and score a bunch of points on offense, it's fun, obviously, because you put in so much hard work and you want to be able to go out there and execute the plays that are called. That's what happened today.

Q. When Dallas was driving, when Tyrique Stevenson stripped that ball, what did -- did that energize you guys?

CALEB WILLIAMS: Yeah, the beginning of the game, obviously we had a three-and-out, and you don't want those to start the game when you get the ball first.

For Tyrique to be able to make a play like that energized the team on all three phases. Us being able to get the ball back right there and kind of start the scoring for us and start the momentum for us was important. And happy for him to be able to have that moment and get the us the ball back.

Q. (Inaudible) concept, all the stuff, two-minute, training camp, you guys have been good at it, (indiscernible) long-play drives, (indiscernible) have a 19-play drive. Does that sort of (indiscernible) why you practice those things and how good you can be at them in the game?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I think we have so many guys that care. It's something that Coach Johnson and I talk about. We have so many guys that care about us as teammates but also just us as winning.

So, like you were just talking about, we always felt that our hard work, our preparation -- the long-drive drill, the two-minutes, the moments, the four-minute, the situational, third downs -- all those things, those are going to come.

I know we started off 0-2, but the belief was still there, the trust was still there that I talked about. So it's just us being able to go out there and do it and execute it. That's always what it comes down to.

Q. Have you ever been to the Wiener's Circle?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I have not, but I've heard about the four-touchdown thing. Is that what you're talking about? Congrats, everybody, you got free hot dogs.

Q. How big of a deal was it to get DJ a touchdown?

CALEB WILLIAMS: We want all of our guys to be able to get going and feel the juice, the energy, the momentum that we want to have on offense. So being able to get our guy, DJ, the ball and definitely score, I know that feels good for him and feels good for me.

I was super excited for him. Gave him kind of a hug like I was going to give him a noogie.

But it's super exciting to be able to spread the ball around. It's something I've prided myself throughout my career is spread the ball around to my guys. It's not necessarily my job to get them the ball in the sense of spreading it around that much -- whoever is open I have to deliver. But I think I've done a good job over my career being able to spread the ball around and kind of keep all my wide receivers happy, because they do a good job out there, blocking, and you only get 70 plays, and those receivers may get five, six targets.

Being able to have those moments and being able to have those guys scoring and keep that momentum going with those guys and building the momentum and trust and all those things, it's important to be able to give all our guys the ball. And happy for DJ.

Q. What's does it do for your offense to get Luther Burden going?

CALEB WILLIAMS: As you all know, as Luther said, if you get the ball in his hands, it's a problem. We always want to be able to get our guys the ball. And today I think Luther showed up big time for us. He's continuing to grow. We're excited for him and his growth.

And I think being able to get him the ball builds a lot of confidence for him, a lot of trust between us and the coaches and myself as his QB, and we're going to keep growing and he's going to be a big playmaker for us.

Q. Did you see some of the things that specifically you've been working on with Ben materialize on the field today in terms of footwork, using your eyes to manipulate the defense, and no pre-snap penalties today, if I'm not mistaken?

CALEB WILLIAMS: Yes, no pre-snap penalties, which is what we've been preaching. When we start having penalties and things like that, that's when we start having our drives that die and die fast.

I think being able to understand that as a team and understand the focus that we need and all the hard work that we put in throughout the week, just to have those moments of maybe a mental lapse of pre-snap penalties and things like that, I think it's important for us to understand that and be able to understand that when we get going, get that first down we're pretty tough to stop as an offense.

Understanding that and we've got to keep, like I said before, we've got to keep being consistent with that and pre-snap stuff. But all the stuff that's shown up with all the hard work that we've been able to put in as an offense, all the hard work that I've been putting in myself with the coaches after hours or whatever the case may be, it's nice to show up, and I think the guys are believing more within the coaches, believing more within themselves and believing more within us, and I say that as the guys but also me included.

Q. You guys had a players-only meeting on Wednesday. What came out of that? What did you guys benefit from that?

CALEB WILLIAMS: I think just being able to communicate with everybody, be on the same page and figure out how we want this to go.

I've always said that the best teams are player-led, and that's what we are. Like I said before also, during the summer, I believe, that Ben has set the standard for us and we have to execute the standard.

Q. (Indiscernible) in the locker room, what was that like for you?

CALEB WILLIAMS: It's awesome. The trust and belief and the hard work and just all of it together, I've been able to have that moment for him and his family, the organization, this historic organization.

It's just a constant growth mindset that we're on, but to be able to have this moment for him and us is really important.

And like I said, it's important for us as a team, organization, to be able to keep building this momentum and have this growth that we want to go on and this run that we want to go on.