Howie Long came away from the NFL Black Friday game impressed with Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
How impressed? Well, on "FOX NFL Kickoff," Long went as far as to compare the Bears' second-year QB to a two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer.
Chicago took down the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. The 31-24 win over the defending Super Bowl champions improved the Bears' record to 9-3, keeping them one-half game ahead of the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.
"You know what he is?" Long said of Williams. "He’s John Elway from my generation. Now, John Elway, he didn’t light it on fire right away initially. Obviously, [he went on to have] a great career."
Williams didn’t play his best game of the season against the Eagles, completing just 17 of his 36 pass attempts (47.2%) with one touchdown and an interception. His mobility, though, was on full display as he was under pressure often against the Eagles’ front seven.
Helping Williams this season is a revamped Bears offensive line, which returned only one starter from last season. As a rookie, Williams started all 17 games and was sacked 68 times (four per game). This season, he’s been sacked 19 times through 12 games, which is 1.6 per week.
"He’s running all over the place," Long said. "Usually, you say with a quarterback, particularly a mobile quarterback, make him go to his left. He’s as comfortable rolling to his left, turning his hips."
The culture has clearly changed in Chicago under first-year head coach Ben Johnson — and it's showing. The first-place Bears needed a reboot after struggling in Williams' rookie season, and the offensive-minded Johnson has thrived through 12 weeks.
"Caleb is starting to buy in," Long said. "[Johnson] challenged the team,
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