The Jordan Love vs. Caleb Williams debate will dominate discussions between the two fan bases this week. In reality, the Green Bay Packers will want the Chicago Bears to throw the ball when the NFL's oldest rivals meet in a Week 14 contest with massive playoff implications.
It's Chicago's No. 2-ranked rushing attack, a unit averaging 153.8 yards on the ground per game, and not Williams, that will scare Green Bay's defense. But you don't just have to take our word for it. Bears head coach Ben Johnson got brutally honest about his offense and said it himself.
"Everybody has a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up," Johnson said. "It's not where it needs to be. We're winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. And none of us are pleased with that."
Ben Johnson just settled the Jordan Love-Caleb Williams debate before the Packers and Bears even play
Well, that's one way to be honest. Johnson shifts the blame around and doesn't single out Williams, but let's say the quiet part out loud here: Williams isn't playing at the level the Bears expected him to.
Packers fans have been saying this the entire time. Johnson said at training camp that he challenged Williams to complete 70 percent of practices over the summer. He fell short of that goal, and it has continued into the regular season.
In fact, Williams is completing just 58.1 percent of his passes, which ranks 40th among 42 quarterbacks (minimum 100 dropbacks). And he can't blame dropped passes, either. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams' adjusted completion percentage also ranks 40th.
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Johnson has given Williams everything he needs. Elite offensive line? Check. A deep receiving corps? Check? A dominant run game? Another check. And Johnson is one of the best play-callers in football.
Chicago's dominant offensive line is leading to unstoppable rushing performances, as we saw when the Bears ran for 281 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles last week. The upset win led to Chicago taking top spot in the NFC.
Being able to run the ball that efficiently should open up the passing game, especially via play-action. Quarterbacks should be able to take what they want from a defense struggling that badly.
Yet despite the Bears running the ball at will, Williams ran into the same issues against Philadelphia that we've seen all season. He completed just 47.2 percent of his passes for 154 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and an awful 56.9 passer rating.
On the season, Williams has completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 2,722 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions, a passer rating of 88.2. It looks OK on the surface, but Johnson is making life easy for his quarterback.
According to Next Gen Stats, Williams has an aggressive throw percentage of just 10.5, the lowest in the NFL. He's often throwing to open receivers and not taking risks in tight windows. That's a compliment to Johnson's scheme. Yet he also takes an average of 3.29 seconds to throw, the most of any passer. Williams isn't getting the ball out quickly enough, and when he does, the accuracy just isn't there consistently.
Entering Week 14, Williams ranks 18th in EPA/play (per SumerSports). Love is first. Williams is 16th in total EPA, Love second. Williams is 29th in success rate, Love 10th. Pro Football Focus passing grade? Williams 25th, Love first.
Many will debate which quarterback is better, but the game plan will differ for the Packers and Bears.
Chicago's defense will want Green Bay to lean heavily on the run and try to dink-and-dunk its way down the field. If Matt LaFleur hands the keys to Love and allows him to attack the Bears downfield like he did against the Detroit Lions, it will significantly stress their secondary.
But for Green Bay, the goal is to make Williams win. Jeff Hafley will have sleepless nights about a Chicago rushing attack that moved the Eagles' defensive line with the kind of ease we haven't seen for years. That's the concern.
The Bears will want to limit Love and make Green Bay run. The Packers will want to put the game in Williams' hands. That's the difference.
Even Ben Johnson knows it. His words? The Bears are winning "in spite" of their passing game. He said what Packers fans knew all along.