Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is just like his head coach in, among others, at least one key way: he hears the noise.
Williams and the Bears are coming off a redeeming win against the Washington Commanders on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6. During the game, however, there seemed to be a notable tone to the commentary, specifically from ESPN’s Troy Aikman. Bears head coach Ben Johnson drew attention with his comments on it.
His QB also caught wind of something they had no knowledge of in real time, but reacted to all the same in the aftermath.
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Aikman cited “luck” on Williams’ 55-yard touchdown pass to D’Andrew Swift, on which the Pro Bowl tailback did most of the work after the catch.
Williams completed 58.6% of his passes in the game.
However, he threw for 252 yards and 1 touchdown with 0 turnovers and had another TD wiped out due to a penalty. His 98.6 passer rating in the contest was still his second-highest mark of the season, behind only a 142.6 mark in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys.
“Nations Cap good being back!” Williams captioned a photodump that he posted on Instagram on October 14. “‘It was lucky’ -TA [Troy Aikman]
“‘Whooptie Doo’ [Laughing emojis].”
The last line is a reference to rapper Young Thug’s song “Whoopty Doo,” which has become a motto to express sentiments such as Williams’. Williams’ collage also included “Bear Down” displayed in rice at a restaurant, kicker Jake Moody, and the Washington Monument.
Aikman also pinned an off-target snap that Williams was not ready for and nearly resulted in a fumble, but was corralled, on the QB, and called him “off” target before that was the case.
Whether Aikman truly has a grudge of some sort with Williams is subjective.
Fans noted during the game that the Hall of Fame QB was not nearly as critical of Jayden Daniels, who completed 73.1% of his passes for a 211-3-1 line, and added 52 yards on 10 carries, but also had a critical fumble that led to the Bears’ game-winning field goal.
Williams is slated to speak with the media on Wednesday. He will surely field questions about Aikman’s commentary and his reaction, just like Johnson.
Ben Johnson Softens Response to Troy Aikman’s Criticism
Johnson’s initial response to Aikman’s remarks, which he caught wind of the following day, was an indirect reference. He then essentially said the Bears, now 3-2 on the season, will take a win however they can get them.
“It sounded like from that game the other night, a few people weren’t particularly pleased with how we’re winning right now,” Johnson told ESPN 1000’s Jeff Joniak on October 14. “I woke up this morning, and my kids were watching the second half before school. And so, I heard some of the commentary. But listen, in this league, any way you can find a way to win is a big deal.
“That’s two in a row on the road. That came down to the last play. And the guys did a great job believing and executing there to finish the game. Now, we do know it’s not sustainable for the rest of the season as well. So, there’s a number of mistakes we got to clean up. There’s the penalties we got to clean up. There’s a lot of work we still got to do to get this thing going the way we want it to. But when you’re winning games and it’s ugly like that, that’s certainly going a long way for your team.”
Johnson was asked again during his media availability on Tuesday. He initially said the tone of the commentary “maybe” caught him by surprise, and that he watched it on mute.
He pivoted to speaking about earning respect when pressed about saying he heard it, though.
“Listen, you want respect in this league, you got to go earn it,” Johnson said during the presser on Tuesday. “And so, that’s where we’re at right now. We need to go earn that respect from not only the rest of the teams in the NFL, but everybody. So, that’s where we are.”