Caleb Williams always admired how Calvin Johnson made amazing catches in tough situations for the Detroit Lions. As he got older, he started to notice something else.
“I got a little older and kind of realized how good Matthew Stafford is at his job,” Williams said.
Williams knows he can learn from a quarterback like Stafford, and he’ll get to see him up close when the Chicago Bears play against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. This matchup features this year’s top draft pick going against a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has a Super Bowl ring.
The Bears (1-2) are looking to get back to winning after two losses in a row, while the Rams aim to build on their exciting win over San Francisco last week.
Los Angeles (1-2) bounced back from a tough 31-point loss at Arizona. They came from behind, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the second half and winning 27-24 after trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter.
The Bears haven’t won since their first game against Tennessee. Their updated offense hasn’t worked as they had hoped, but Williams did show improvement last week in a close 21-16 loss at Indianapolis.
The former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California set a Bears rookie record with 363 passing yards and his first two touchdown passes.
Now, he will face a quarterback who has thrown for nearly 57,000 yards in his 16 seasons with Detroit and Los Angeles. Stafford won a Super Bowl in 2021 during his first year with the Rams.
“I think there’s a lot of respect for the toughness, the competitiveness of Matthew (and) the ability to always stay in the fight,” said Rams coach Sean McVay.
“Some of the different things in terms of how he’s beating you with his ability to be able to manipulate coverage through his eyes, understanding how to try to move defenders that are visual on him to open up and expand windows, you heard (Houston’s C.J.) Stroud talk about that as well.”
