Caleb Williams, fresh off a storied college career, found himself at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine when fate handed him a tantalizing glimpse of a possible future—not with the Bears, but in Minnesota. There, he met with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. They didn’t simply talk football; they connected. Williams later said that following that meeting he began “to dream of what it would be like to play for Minnesota.” The connection weighed heavy on his mind. “I need to go to the Vikings,” he reportedly told his father. To which his father calmly replied, “Let’s do it.” Cal, on the cusp of his pro life, wasn’t just thinking; he was scheming. But as much as he hoped for that outcome, they both knew how unlikely it really was—division rival dreams don’t come cheap, and seldom come true.
The plot thickened when Bears GM Ryan Poles strolled in and closed the door to that dream. “We’re drafting you no matter what,” Poles told Williams, making clear that his future was tethered firmly to Chicago, whether he liked it or not. That blunt finality may have stung, but he swallowed it quietly—and with maturity.
Williams and his father didn’t just sit back—they explored. Seth Wickersham’s forthcoming book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback uncovers the lengths they went to: consulting labor lawyers to find loopholes in the NFL’s CBA, even musing about the United Football League as a detour that could allow Caleb to bypass the draft and choose his own landing spot in 2025. That was desperation born of vision. His father’s scathing remark—“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die”—echoed through the scouting halls
Yet, reality intervened. The Bears, with the No. 1 pick, took Williams. Minnesota, just one pick behind, scooped up J.J. McCarthy. The die was cast: Williams in orange, McCarthy in purple, division rivals pitted against each other, stories forever intertwined.
Williams entered the NFL under bright lights and heavy expectations. He was the top pick, the face of hope for a floundering franchise. He set rookie passing records for the Bears—completions, yards, touchdowns—and became the first Bears QB to start every game in his rookie year since Jay Cutler. Yet, he also endured adversity; he was sacked 68 times, setting a franchise-high and registering one of the nastiest sack totals in NFL history, rookie or not. Still, his 354‑pass stretch without an interception ranked fourth longest in NFL history for all QBs and longest for any rookie
When the Bears faced the Vikings in his rookie season, Williams looked explosive against their complex defense. He completed 64% of his passes for 531 yards, and notched three touchdowns without throwing any interceptions. In short, he looked like he belonged. Those matchups reinforced just how much that dream of Minnesota had stoked his fire—he wasn’t just playing the Bears, he was chasing ghosts of that alternate path. (
One particular game late in that season stands out: the Bears, defying expectations, scored 11 points in the final 22 seconds to force overtime. Williams orchestrated a 1-yard TD pass to Keenan Allen and a clutch two-point conversion to DJ Moore, tying the game—and inspiring Cairo Santos’s game-tying field goal. It wasn’t enough to win, but it tore open narratives about his rookie capabilities. “He’s a ball player,” Allen said afterward, echoing what many saw on the field.
Amid all this, Williams and O’Connell crossed paths again—this time on the field. After one heartbreaking loss, they embraced. O’Connell whispered to Williams: “It sucks that I have to go against you for a while, but hell of a player—keep going.” Williams called those “encouraging words,” but now their meaning runs deeper, a recognition of mutual respect forged in that first combine meeting and tested in the fires of division rivalry.
Fast-forward to now, and tonight’s the night they meet again—third NFL matchup between Williams and the Vikings. History doesn’t always go the way you script it. In their Week 1 opener of the 2025 season, Williams and the Bears held a comfortable lead, 17‑6 in the third quarter, after a dominating first half with Williams running for a touchdown and showing command despite the pressure that had defined his rookie year. Then came the unraveling. J.J. McCarthy, in his first NFL start, answered the bell. He orchestrated a stunning fourth-quarter comeback, rallying Minnesota with back‑to‑back passing touchdowns and then sealing the deal with a 14‑yard rushing score. The Vikings scored 21 straight points and walked away with a 27‑24 victory.
McCarthy’s performance was nothing short of theatrical for a kid in his first game—the two scores through the air, one on the ground, confidence radiating from O’Connell’s faith at halftime, and composure that belied rookie nerves. It was the stuff of legend starting to write itself.
For Williams, it was a bitter pill—but with glimmers of promise. He threw for 210 yards and a touchdown and scrambled for 58 more yards plus a score himself. He looked the part early, like the QB the Bears hoped he’d become. He just couldn’t hold it together late, as costly mistakes and execution errors crept in. A misfired deep pass to DJ Moore and poor clock management on special teams ultimately sank Chicago’s hopes.
If you looked at the analytics, the Bears had a 94.2% chance to win at one point in that game. And then, over the last quarter, they collapsed. It wasn’t just a tactical failure, but a psychological one—a moment when youth and pressure collided. Williams’s rookie season struggles with consistency—especially on deep and intermediate throws—resurfaced at the worst possible time
So now they meet again. The story has grown richer—what began as dream, as desire, as rivalry, is now part of Williams’s narrative. He faced the Vikings twice in 2024 and lost both, though he flashed brilliance. He now seeks his first win over Minnesota, in this, their third career meeting. It’s been nine months of story evolving: from pre-draft longing for Minnesota, to rookie milestones and heartbreaks, to a rivalry that’s just heating up.
His journey is layered—he’s not just playing division rivals, he’s playing destiny. The one who once whispered “I need to go to the Vikings” came to Chicago, worked under a new coach, fought through doubters, and now steps onto the field every Monday night carrying the weight of what might have been—and what still could be.
That back-and-forth with O’Connell, that initial connection, lingers, haunting or motivating, driving Williams to prove that he can turn Chicago into a landing spot, into a legacy—not just a footnote on Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell’s quarterback resume. If those words from O’Connell—“hell of a player, keep going” ring, not just in the locker room last postseason, but in Williams’s psyche tonight, then this next showdown could be more than a game—it could be a chapter of redemption, assertion, and fate figuratively reclaimed.
At 23, with one season behind him and so much ahead, Williams has already become more than just a draft story or a flash of talent. He’s a growing force. He’s no longer wondering what could have been with the Vikings. He’s shaping what will be with the Bears. And tonight, under the lights, he has a shot to do that—for real. Revenge, closure, or launching a new chapter—whatever it is, he’s ready for Minnesota… for himself.
