Caleb Williams had about as good a start to the 2025 season as he could ask for. He engineered a 10-play drive to open the game and the campaign, capping it with a nine-yard touchdown run of his own. He then went on to start 10-for-10. But things went downhill fast after that.
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He began 10-for-10 for 93 yards and a rushing score as the Bears jumped out to a 17-6 lead. From there, though, he and the offense were outscored 21-7. Williams finished the rest of the way going just 11-for-25 for 117 yards and a TD. The issue seemed clear: new head coach and play-caller Ben Johnson had scripted the opening drives, giving Williams a level of comfort that quickly disappeared once the game opened up.
After that, it was a mess. Williams started out hot while his counterpart, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, looked like he was seeing ghosts. But in the end, it was McCarthy who stole the show with three fourth-quarter TDs. Beyond Williams’ shaky play, fans also weren’t impressed with his on-field swag choices.
“Caleb Williams’ undershirt is so unserious,” one X user wrote alongside a picture of the QB’s fit.
Caleb Williams undershirt is so unserious pic.twitter.com/0BE62quWrV
— Gino Fornaro (@ginoliciousboss) September 9, 2025
We would have to agree that the shirt does look “unserious,” and it’s rare that you see players wearing baggy undershirts. “Tomorrow’s laundry day,” joked another.
“Looking like a slouch on national TV in prime time,” chimed in a third. “That’s a fashion flag on the play,” added a fourth.
Fans also got on Williams during the preseason when they saw that the second-year QB was the only player on the Bears wearing his team socks rolled down near the ankles. These don’t really seem like they are as big a deal as his inability to make fast and smart decisions on the field.
But if you really wanted to read into it, you could say that these choices kind of separate him from the rest of his teammates. That, however, would be a stretch in our opinion.
Whether they get Caleb Williams in a new undershirt and pull up his socks seems superfluous. What they need to do is sit Williams down and have him cool off a bit. He plays too much hero ball, and that leads to unnecessary difficulties for himself, including a few Will Levis-esque trip-and-falls on MNF. And it’s not like he was under duress at all: the Vikings registered just two pressures on the QB, per PFR.
Williams needs to be better at his job. Coaching will help, but perhaps losing the baggy undershirt and the rolled-down socks and taking a page out of Deion Sanders’ look-good-feel-good-play-good book could help him turn a page in his own career.
