Coachin' 'em up

 Caleb Williams came thisclose to beating the surging 49ers on the coast the other night, in one of those who-has-the-ball-last 42-38 shootouts. That he, and the Chicago Bears, failed on an incompletion into the end zone from the 2-yard line is no discredit to them, however.

The 49ers, after all, are on track to be the top seed in the NFC, unless it's the Seattle Seahawks. And the Bears just clinched the NFC North title for the first time in seven years.

And, yes, one of the big reasons they've done -- gone from 5-12 a year ago to 11-5 with one game left in the season -- because Caleb Williams has become an elite QB virtually overnight.

Checked all the boxes, the second-year pro has. Thrown for 3,730 yards and 25 touchdowns for a team built on defense and the run game. Turned it over just eight times in 16 games -- six picks and two lost fumbles. Been Mr. Clutch in the fourth quarter, leading the Bears to six come-from-behind wins in the last two minutes.

Know what else?

He's only been sacked 23 times. That's a whopping 45 fewer sacks than he took last year.

You can put that down to a number of factors, not the least of which are improved maturity and an improved offensive line. But mainly you can put it down to two words: Ben Johnson.

The first-year head coach has retooled a Bears offense that last year ranked 28th in the league in points and dead last in total yards. This year? With one game left to play, it ranks  ranks 10th in the former (26.6 ppg) and third in the latter (377.75 ypg). 

A lot of that unquestionably is because of the way Johnson, a noted quarterback whisperer, has coached up Williams.  If that suggests the right coach can work wonders with an NFL quarterback -- especially a young one -- well, you're damn right he can. Numerous examples exist.

Baker Mayfield, for instance, was a bust in Cleveland but, once released from captivity, became a solid citizen in Tampa Bay. Sam Darnold found new life in Minnesota after escaping the crash site that is the New York Jets. And Drake Maye, Bo Nix and Brock Purdy landed in exactly the right situation when they wound up in, respectively, New England with Mike Vrabel, Denver with Sean Payton and San Fran with Kyle Shanahan. 

All of them are thriving. As is Caleb Williams -- whom at times last year you could be forgiven for thinking was just another bust in a seemingly infinite congo line of Bears QB busts.

And then ...

And then Ben Johnson arrived. And suddenly Caleb Williams went from being the next Peter Tom Willis to being ... well, to being the Caleb Williams the Bears saw when they took him with the No. 1 pick in 2024.

Amazing. 

Or, you know, not.