‘Disgustingly Next-Level Coding,’ ‘Did Not Like This’ — NFL World Alarmed By Kirk Herbstreit Comparing Bears Star Caleb Williams to a Wild Animal

Caleb Williams’ growth was the subject of Kirk Herbstreit’s analysis on Thursday night, but people were talking about it a day later for all the wrong reasons. By Friday, the remark had drawn criticism from several journalists and broadcasters.

Williams went 22-of-33 for 308 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in the Chicago Bears’ 30-24 win over the New England Patriots. Even so, the moment that made the rounds was all about Herbstreit’s first-quarter remarks on Williams.

Chicago was up 3-0 and driving for a touchdown with the first quarter winding down when Herbstreit and Al Michaels, his play-by-play partner, began discussing how Williams has developed in his third NFL season.

Herbstreit put it this way: “Let’s be honest here, when Caleb Williams first got here, he was like a bucking bronco. He needed to be trained. He needed to be taught how to play within structure.”

Then he drew the contrast: “You know, the one thing about Caleb Williams is that he was a dynamic playmaker in college, and he’s in his first year here, but he was a little reckless. He didn’t make the easy play. Now, in his second year under Ben Johnson, he’s much more refined in how he plays the position.”

Awful Announcing posted the clip, and within a couple of hours, people who cover the sport for a living were weighing in. The responses ranged from brief disapproval to pointed criticism of the image itself.

Yahoo Sports writer CeeHawk kept it short: “Did not like this.”

O.J. Spivey, a journalist with the Philadelphia Tribune, minced no words: “This is disgustingly next-level coding.”

Emmy-nominated sportscaster Chris Williamson widened the lens: “The way certain media members talk about Black athletes is insane.”

Awful Announcing‘s Sean Keeley highlighted a post from Jemele Hill: “There were so many ways to say that Caleb Williams has matured as a QB, and he picked the most cringeworthy way possible.”

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Jagger May, an NFL analyst for RotoWire, came closest to a counterpoint: “The sad part was my initial reaction was ‘this wasn’t even that bad.’ I’m sure in his own way he meant this as a compliment to his improvement and is a result of much deeper issues.”

May still finished on a pointed note: “This is why it’s important to have smarter analysts more than ever.”

Eagles freelance writer Keina Williams also chimed in. “This is [expletive] weird and coded,” she tweeted.

Herbstreit’s point was about improvement, and Williams’ completion rate has jumped since last season. The Bears star completed 58.1% of his passes in 2025, 32nd of 33 qualified quarterbacks.

Through Week 7 this season, he is at 71%, second of 33 qualified quarterbacks, with one interception in 124 attempts. Pro Football Network’s NFL QB Impact Grade has him at 84.4 through Week 7, fourth of 34 graded quarterbacks.

Williams and the Bears, now 5-2 and second in the NFC North, don’t play again until a Monday night trip to face the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Nov. 2.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.