Ben Johnson Rips Caleb Williams, Bears Starters' 'Really Sloppy Football' vs. Chiefs

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was not pleased with the starting offense in Friday's 29-27 preseason win to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Johnson called out the "really sloppy football" he saw from the first-team offense.

"Offensively, the first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far, and unfortunately that's what we got here tonight," Johnson said.

Johnson used his starters for the entire first half against the Chiefs. They had a strong finish with a combined 139 yards and 10 points (one touchdown) on the final two drives after punting on their first two possessions.

The first play was a mess with a fumble charged to Caleb Williams due to a botched exchange with Olamide Zaccheaus on a jet sweep that Williams recovered to maintain possession. Colston Loveland was called for a false start before the next snap, leaving the Bears in a second-and-19 situation.

Their next possession did produce a first down, but the drive stalled five plays later when Williams was sacked for a five-yard loss after holding the ball for several seconds despite having a clean pocket.

One potential concern for the Bears going into the regular season is that Johnson has been consistently critical of how the offense has performed throughout training camp and preseason.

"It was sloppy—sloppier than we were hoping we would be at this point," Johnson said unprompted after the team's Aug. 3 practice.

Johnson acknowledged at the start of training camp that Williams was "playing a little bit slower than what he's capable of" in part because he was learning a new system.

There was a lot of optimism about Williams and the offense following Chicago's second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 17. The starting unit only played two drives, but they went 92 yards in seven plays on the opening possession.

Williams finished that game 6-of-10 for 107 yards and one touchdown against the Bills, though Buffalo sat most of its key players on both sides of the ball.

Given how much turnover there was for the Bears coming out of the 2025 season, led by Johnson being hired as head coach, it was always going to be a process before everything looked like the way he wanted it to.

Based on the results from Friday's preseason contest, there's still a lot of work for Williams and the offense to do. They will kickoff the regular season on Sept. 8 against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in the Monday Night Football opener.