Bears’ Caleb Williams ‘could care less’ about outside criticism

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said Wednesday he “didn’t care” about the comments about his play after Chicago’s victory on “Monday Night Football.”

“People are going to say what they have to say,” Williams said after the Bears extended their winning streak to three games following a second straight come-from-behind victory over the Washington Commanders. “We win, we lose; people have things to say. It was luck, it wasn’t luck; people have things to say. Have a bad game, have a good game; people have things to say.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re just worried about what’s going on here, in this building and with these guys. That’s all I can say about that.”

Williams was asked Wednesday about how his performance was called “fake” on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.” Analyst Troy Aikman said Williams needs to do a better job of where he throws the ball to his receivers to allow them to gain more yards after the catch.

As the Bears recovered from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Williams threw a short pass to D’Andre Swift, who raced 55 yards for a touchdown to cut Washington’s lead to two. Of the play, Aikman said safety Commander Quan Martin missed a tackle, leading Swift to be as open as he was, and receiver DJ Moore pushed cornerback Marshon Lattimore into Martin, who was supposed to cover Swift.

“Just a little bit of luck on Chicago’s part,” Aikman said on the show. “It really wasn’t really meant to be a choice [play]but it turned into this depending on how it was defended.

Williams, saying he was “messing up,” mocked Aikman’s characterization of the touchdown in an Instagram post Tuesday.

“Nations Cap, it’s good to be back!” According to Williams’ legend. “It was luck” -TA. Whooptie Doo [laughing emojis]”.

“D’Andre made a great play and obviously [Aikman] “I had things to say about us or about me and, I mean, we ultimately came out victorious,” Williams said Wednesday. “I made a little fun out of it. That was about it.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson told team broadcaster Jeff Joniak that he caught part of the broadcast Tuesday morning while his children watched the second half of the game while getting ready for school.

“It seems like in the game the other night, a few people weren’t particularly happy with the way we’re winning right now,” Johnson said. “But look, in this league, finding a way to win is a big deal.”

When asked later if Aikman’s tone surprised him, Johnson replied, “Maybe I just muted it.”

“We have to earn that respect not only from the rest of the NFL teams, but from everyone,” Johnson said. “Everyone is going to have their own opinion about us as a team and about each player, each coach individually. You do your best to block out the outside noise. We know what we’re building here. We start to believe in each other. The more time we spend together, I feel it. I feel it building, and I think that’s the most important thing.

“At the end of the day, you want respect from your peers – especially from the people you work with – and I think that carries over outside of the building as well, with how you compete and what you put on tape. So, yes, that’s a good thing. But at the same time, we’re more concerned with what we do on a day-to-day basis and what we do for each other.”

When asked Wednesday if he met with the “Monday Night Football” broadcast team before the Commanders game, Williams said he didn’t because of a scheduling conflict and then wasn’t able to connect with Aikman at another time. Williams spoke with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge on the sidelines pregame.

A source told ESPN that Williams also did not participate in meetings with the broadcast team before the Bears’ appearance on “MNF” in week one. A person with knowledge of ESPN’s production meetings said it was considered “very rare” for starting quarterbacks not to meet with the broadcast team.

Williams anticipated that perceived criticism of his play would be used as motivation in the future.

“When you’re in a competitive situation like Coach was, or myself, or other teammates, when people have things to say about you, whether it’s that week or a whole year or whatever, I think you use it as a little fuel, as a little motivation,” Williams said. “I think that’s always part of the game as a competitor. … But you don’t invest too much into it to the point that it affects you negatively.”