Caleb Williams stood on the Chicago Bears sideline inside Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium in late September as he prepared himself for the task at hand.

The Bears had a chance to take a late lead against the Raiders despite a sluggish start offensively. They trailed 24-19 and started a drive in their own territory with 6:45 left in the game.

As the split crowd of Raiders and Bears fans grew louder in anticipation, Bears head coach Ben Johnson approached Williams. The two of them had only a little more than three games worth of experience with each other. But Johnson wanted to tell Williams one thing before he took the field.

“This is what you’re built for,” Johnson said.

That simple belief lit a fire in Williams. He went into the huddle, looked into each of his teammates’ eyes and told them that it was their moment. It was their time to win the game.

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Williams backed up his talk. He led the Bears on an 11-play, 69-yard touchdown drive to take a 25-24 lead with 1:34 left in the game. Williams contributed 60 of those yards. He completed four of his five passes for 42 yards while scrambling for 18 yards.

Chicago secured the win when cornerback Josh Blackwell blocked the Raiders’ go-ahead field goal attempt in the final minute.

“The belief, the trust, the hard work that we put in, those are the moments that you wish for,” Williams said after the win. “Those are moments that you dream about. So, being able to have those moments and come through is important.”

Williams came through two weeks later when he led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Washington Commanders in front of a national audience. It set the stage for six comeback wins when Chicago trailed with two minutes left in the game, the most by any team in a season since the 1970 merger.

Now Williams is preparing himself for the biggest game of his career. Chicago will host its longtime rival, the Green Bay Packers, for their third-ever meeting in the playoffs in Saturday night’s Wild Card game at Soldier Field.

The Bears drafted Williams with the No. 1 overall pick last year for moments like this. After a season where Williams turned improbable into likely, he’s ready to show what he can do in the playoffs.

“I think I am built for these moments, mentality-wise, how I’ve worked,” Williams said at Halas Hall in Lake Forest this week. “I’ve been in a bunch of big games before and a bunch of big rival games. And so, in those moments and in these moments, I think I can provide a spark for the team.”

‘Something that he’s had’

Williams had a long list of strengths as a prospect coming out of USC.

His arm strength was impeccable. His ability to create something out of nothing was unique. His capability to put his team in game-winning situations was valuable.

The last strength seemed to be forgotten at times during the draft process. USC went 7-5 during Williams’ junior season as the Trojans struggled at times for various reasons. Critics pointed to USC’s 48-20 loss to Notre Dame when Williams threw a career-high three interceptions.

But Williams had shown he could win. Williams made his college debut with Oklahoma in 2021 when he came in as a true freshman and helped the Sooners overcome a 28-7 deficit to beat Texas. That continued at USC, where he led the Trojans to an 11-3 record and won the Heisman Trophy.

“I think that’s just something that he’s had and he’s kind of just been born with,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said.

Williams showed it was something he had during his rookie season, even if the wins didn’t come.

He earned his first career fourth-quarter comeback in his first start when the Bears came back to beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17. Williams led two field goal drives in the fourth quarter before cornerback Tyrique Stevenson returned an interception for a touchdown to win the game.

Williams thought he led his first fourth-quarter, game-winning drive against the Washington Commanders in Week 8. Then again in Week 11 against the Packers. Again in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings. And again in Week 13 against the Detroit Lions.

But each time, the Bears found a way to lose.

“I know results weren’t great last year, but there were countless times where he drove us down the field at the end of the game to either put us in position to win, tie or go ahead,” Kmet said. “But this year, obviously, that gets highlighted more just because of the winning record and all that stuff.”

Williams and the Bears finally broke through in their regular-season finale against the Packers.

With less than a minute left in the game, Williams led the Bears 37 yards down the field. That was enough for kicker Cairo Santos to knock in a 51-yard field goal as time expired to secure the Bears’ first win against their rival in 12 games.

“This is just a stepping stone,” Williams said at the time. “The first win of 2025. We’ve got a lot more to come.”

‘Knack of finding an open guy’

Johnson noticed something during the spring and the summer.

He and his coaching staff tore everything down to the studs during the offseason, especially offensively. The Bears started with the basics and slowly learned throughout the offseason and training camp.

Williams, like his teammates, struggled. He juggled different responsibilities for the first time and failed at times. Johnson’s patience wore thin at times, too, including on the first day of camp when he took the first-team offense off the field.

But despite all the struggles, Johnson spotted something. Everything seemed to click for Williams anytime the Bears ran a two-minute situation.

“He just has a knack of finding an open guy,” Johnson said. “He has a knack of extending the play when needed. So it’s almost like that little bit of pressure you put on him he just thrives in, and he really excels. That’s been consistent ever since we came into this building.”

That knack became more apparent as the season went on. Much like the Raiders win, the rest of the Bears’ comebacks came in different fashion. A couple of walk-off field goals, a couple of go-ahead scoring drives and a walk-off touchdown.

But there was a common theme in those game-winning drives: Williams spread the ball out. He hit five different targets on those drives, targeting running back D’Andre Swift, wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze and rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III.

That trend was reflected in the Bears’ receiving numbers. Loveland, Moore, Odunze and Burden each finished with at least 600 rushing yards. Kmet and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus each finished with at least 300 yards while Swift was a yard off.

Williams trusted each of his receivers in critical moments.

“It’s critical,” Bears quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett told Shaw Local News Network. “Especially in those situations, those third- and fourth-down situations down there in the red zone as well. That’s all part of it, being able to trust that the guy’s gonna be where we need him and make the play if that is the case, putting it in harm’s way.”

It hasn’t all been perfect. Williams still misses open targets. He also failed at a couple of comeback attempts late in the season against the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.

But Williams has turned into what Johnson called “a completely different quarterback.” Williams broke the Bears’ single-season passing record to end the season Sunday. More importantly, Williams understands Johnson’s offense and can lead it into a playoff run.

“I feel that I’ve grown tremendously so far this year, and it’s exciting to see,” Williams said. “That record was more or less the growth that I’ve had. That’s where I’ve been at, that’s where my mindset’s been at, and then at this moment, it’s at an all-time high for myself, of confidence.”

Showing great poise

Williams has been nervous for a game once in his life.

It came in high school when Williams played for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Williams was set to make his first start as the Eagles traveled to play Baltimore’s Gilman High School.

He fumbled two snaps in the game but led Gonzaga to a 47-0 win. After that, Williams didn’t get nervous for games anymore.

“I treat them all the same,” Williams said. “All the big games are the same to me. Doesn’t matter if it was high school for me, whether it was college, or anything like that.”

Williams has kept his poise for much of this season.

He told reporters earlier in the year that his heart rate drops when he prepares for two-minute drills at the end of games. While the game quickens for others, everything slows down for Williams.

“I think I am built for these moments, mentality-wise, how I’ve worked. I’ve been in a bunch of big games before and a bunch of big rival games. And so, in those moments and in these moments, I think I can provide a spark for the team.”

—  Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears quarterback

For Williams, it comes down to trust. Williams trusts in the work that he put in earlier in the week and trusts his teammates will be there to support him.

“He’s just got great poise out there, and he remains the same,” Kmet said. “And I think he understands, especially this year, when he has to go make a play when it’s needed. And I think we’ve seen that come up time and time again.”

That poise has been contagious to his teammates.

The Bears said they draw upon Williams in critical moments, such as that game-winning drive against the Raiders. It could be easy for Williams to let the moment get to him. Instead, he exudes confidence and makes plays to put the Bears in a spot to win.

“When he has the ball in his hands, we realize a lot of special things can happen,” left guard Joe Thuney said. “So as an offensive line you just want to protect, whether it’s run, pass, whatever. When everyone on the team sees him making plays, I think it is infectious, and he’s been great for us.”

It’s all been the start of what Williams hoped he could accomplish when he came to Chicago.

Williams wanted to rewrite the Bears’ history book and become the best quarterback in NFL history. Now that he’s accomplished part of that goal, he’s ready to take his next step this weekend.

“It’s the start of it,” Williams said. “Part of it was me getting here, coming here and having that mindset throughout and then getting to this point, being able to go to the playoffs in my second year, Coach’s first year, and to continue that mindset, that energy here in Chicago is important. It’s where we’re at, and it starts this weekend.”