Caleb Williams Won His First Game, But Viewers Saw the Issue That Sports Media Keeps Trying to Hide
It should go without saying that the single biggest star in the NFL currently is with the Kansas City Chiefs.
(Not her.)
Not only is quarterback Patrick Mahomes the most decorated quarterback to suit up in the NFL since Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr., there’s ample reason behind it.
The accolades speak for themselves (three-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time regular season MVP) but there’s also the raw star power that he — and his controversial wife — exudes at all times.
Mahomes has become a big enough star that a starting quarterback for a major college football program is shamelessly, literally and intentionally cosplaying as him on and off the field.
Mahomes is that big of a deal … so why wouldn’t the NFL want two of them?
Enter No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and new Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
The moribund Bears (they’ve had one winning season in the last decade of pro football) gleefully drafted the former USC Trojan on the pretense that Williams would be the next Patrick Mahomes-esque star.
And if you knew nothing about football or leadership, you’d think Williams has a shot at becoming Mahomes 2.0. The ex-Trojan has many of the similar physical tools that Mahomes has, after all.
Apparently, the media knows nothing of football or leadership.
Just look at the way they were gushing over the Bears quarterback leading up to the team’s comeback win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday (Chicago won 24-17):
“Caleb Williams Sported the Most Perfect Nails for His Bears Debut” … “Caleb Williams sports Chicago Bears-inspired nails in Week 1″…
Wait, what?
Yes, in lieu of anything substantive to say about Williams’s performance (more on this shortly) on Sunday, major sports outlets like Sports Illustrated and ESPN were gushing about his … painted nails?
Even the NFL got in on it:
New nails for new QB1
“#18 DA BEARS” pic.twitter.com/zdBohsPCoN
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Well that’s probably because Williams produced a positively un-Mahomes-like stat line in that ballyhooed win.
The top overall pick finished the game with a wildly underwhelming 93 passing yards, zero touchdowns and a paltry 48 percent of his passes completed.
And those meager 93 yards weren’t because the Bears shackled their quarterback. Williams was given 29 throwing attempts on Sunday. Compare that to, say, the self-immolating Will Levis, whose poor quarterback play directly contributed to the stunning Titans loss.
Levis, despite being the primary catalyst for this loss, still finished with 127 passing yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Was Williams really that much better than Levis?
Not really, according to social media.
Caleb Williams contribution to the Bears season opening win pic.twitter.com/58AfYACwnb
— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) September 8, 2024
One user accused Williams of being that one student who does nothing but gets an A+ in a group project.
Caleb Williams getting praised in the Media for his 93 yards and 0 TD’s.
pic.twitter.com/Ldond7Y370— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) September 8, 2024
Another X user just found the Williams love completely undeserved.
But perhaps the most poignant feedback came from an X user who actually shared a clip of Williams trying to scramble away from pressure — something he was easily able to do in college, thanks to his athleticism.
The scramble did, uh … not go well.
Caleb Williams trying to scramble backwards in the nfl vs grown lmao this isn’t the pac 12 pic.twitter.com/PrCjlI1Hir
— John (@iam_johnw) September 8, 2024
And that last clip is of particular importance because the ability to scramble away from pressure to make a big play is perhaps one of the key characteristics of Mahomes (and key differentiation from Brady.)
Look, all this is to say: NFL fans call the first Monday after Week 1 “Overreaction Monday” for a reason.
Williams may very well finish his career as a better quarterback than Mahomes and Brady.
But he’s never going to reach that potential if the media is more concerned about glazing up his colored nails and emotional outbursts than his actual performance on the field.
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