Tony Dungy Says One Thing Holds Caleb Williams Back From Being Unstoppable

Caleb Williams had one of the best seasons a Chicago Bears quarterback has ever achieved in 2025. He set the single-season franchise record with 3,942 yards to go along with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Unfortunately, it wasn’t widely celebrated in the NFL, in large part because of his pedestrian 58.1% completion rate. Many feel his lack of efficiency was a constant drag on an otherwise excellent Bears offense. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy echoed this sentiment.

He spoke with Adam Jahns of CHGO about it. He’s been incredibly impressed with the progress Williams has made this past season. The young QB already has the knack for making the game-changing special plays. His goal for 2026 should be learning to master the more normal ones.

“I thought Caleb made some big-time improvements,” NBC analyst Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told CHGO this week. “And I think he’s still got a little ways to go. He’s making the spectacular plays, and I think Ben is getting him to make those ordinary plays more consistently. And when he does that – and he’s making those ordinary plays at a 90 percent pitch – and then can give you that fourth-down unbelievable rainbow, then he is going to be unstoppable.”

People talk about deep throws all the time, but you’ll often find the best quarterbacks in the NFL make their bread and butter in the intermediate range. This is the area from 10 to 19 yards past the line of scrimmage. It is also the area where Williams struggled the most.

Name	Completion % between 10-19 yards
Caleb Williams	45.9%
Drake Maye	65.6%
Matthew Stafford	55.2%
Josh Allen	62.8%
Sam Darnold	64.6%
Dak Prescott	61.0%
Justin Herbert	63.5%
Patrick Mahomes	58.4%

Caleb Williams must spend his break practicing his layups.

The trick for Williams is learning to throttle back his arm strength. He is so gifted as a thrower that he sometimes lets his obvious velocity work against him. It’s great for those downfield passes, but can be a hindrance in the intermediate range. Those throws are more about mechanics: hip rotation, footwork, and release point. If you dig into Williams’ tape, you’ll often find those three things are not in proper alignment. It is why head coach Ben Johnson has made it his objective to clean up the technical issues in the spring and summer.

This is hardly anything new. Plenty of young quarterbacks suffered from the same problems. Allen did in Buffalo. Stafford did in Detroit. Brett Favre did early in his career. It took time for them to learn the pro style. It is complex and highly detailed. Learning to operate that way with any degree of fluidity takes time. Caleb Williams took considerable steps in the right direction, but there is still work to do. If he can get that rate at least into the mid-50s range next season, the Bears passing game should look significantly better.

Tony Dungy knows what he’s talking about.

This isn’t some guy who is speaking from a place of ignorance. He understands more about developing quarterbacks than you think. He got an education from some of the NFL’s best at it, including Chuck Noll, Marty Schottenheimer, and Dennis Green. Those lessons allowed him to help Trent Dilfer, a draft bust in Tampa Bay, become a Pro Bowler. Then in Indianapolis, he transformed Peyton Manning from a good quarterback into one of the best of all time, winning a Super Bowl in 2006.

What he says about Williams is both fair and accurate. Doing just the spectacular plays is great, but not enough to win a championship. To do that, you must be able to consistently hit the normal throws. It’s like an NBA player who can hit threes and dunk but can’t sink a midrange jumper to save his life. Watching them can be fun, but they don’t often win anything because they lack the efficiency to beat good teams. It’s not a coindience many quarterbacks who couldn’t throw deep but were surgical between 10-19 yards still have great careers.

Trust what Tony Dungy says.