What Bears' Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson said about Troy Aikman criticism

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears quarterback Caleb Williams created an Instagram post chronicling his return to the D.C. area where he grew up. The carousel included several images of his hometown, of him playing in a 25-24 victory over the Commanders, a random shot of Allen Iverson and funny picture of hero kicker Jake Moody.

The caption hit on a few things, but the second one stood out.

“It was lucky” – TA

TA stands for Troy Aikman. The hall-of-fame quarterback and “Monday Night Football” color analyst used that phrasing (somewhat) to describe D’Andre Swift’s 55-yard touchdown catch and run that turned the tide against Washington.

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There were some other perceived slights on Aikman’s commentary that bothered Williams enough to post about it and then comment extensively on it during a Wednesday press conference at Halas Hall.

“It’s fun. Fun trolls,” Williams said. “I was messing around. Yeah, D’Andre made a great play and obviously (Aikman) had some stuff to say about us or me and, I mean, we came out victorious in the end. Made a little fun moment of it. That was about it.”

Head coach Ben Johnson didn’t say much about it in Tuesday’s virtual press conference when asked if he heard Aikman’s commentary.

His response: “Maybe I had it on mute.”

Turns out Johnson didn’t.

“It sounded like from that game the other night, a few people weren’t particularly pleased with how we are winning right now,” Johnson told Jeff Joniak for an interview on ESPN 1000-AM in Chicago. “I woke up this morning and my kids were watching the second half before school, so I heard some of the commentary. In this league, any way you can find a way to win is a big deal.”

[READ: Ben Johnson provides health status update on DJ Moore]

Athletes and coaches can find motivation in just about anything, and this one certainly counts as fuel. That’s the case here, a point Williams freely admitted.

“I think you always kinda use those — When you’re in a competitive situation like Coach is or myself or other teammates, when people have stuff to say about you, whether it’s that week or a whole year or whatever the case may be, I think you do use it as a little bit of fuel, as a little bit of motivation,” the second-year quarterback said. “I think that’s always a part of it as a competitor. That goes along. But you don’t put too much into it to where it affects you negatively.”

There was something earlier in the week that added a wrinkle to this story. Williams said he missed a production meeting time with Aikman before the game. He tried to reach out to Aikman later and couldn’t connect.

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“I did not. I did not. I didn’t get to meet with him,” Williams said. “Tried to meet with him. Reached out and tried to meet and that didn’t happen. Moved on from it, went and played the game and came out 3-2.”

That’s the bottom line for the Bears as they traverse through the relatively early season. They need to stack as many wins as possible. Johnson said Tuesday that’s how respect is earned in the NFL, and the Bears haven’t earned it yet. Williams also acknowledged that critics will show up no matter how a team plays on the field.

“I (couldn’t) care less,” Williams said. “… People are going to say what they have to say. We win, we lose, people have stuff to say. It was lucky, it was not lucky. People have stuff to say. Have a bad game, have a good game, people have stuff to say. It doesn’t matter. We’re only worried about what’s going on here within this building and with these guys. That’s all I can say about that.”

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