Troy Aikman tweaked Caleb Williams a little on “Monday Night Football,” and Williams tweaked Aikman a little on social media Tuesday.
The ABC/ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback created a bit of a tempest Monday with what many on social media viewed as overly negative commentary about the Chicago Bears — and Williams in particular.
For example, wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus dropped a couple of clearly on-target passes, yet Aikman said of one Williams toss, “It hits up on his high shoulder pads,” and of the other, “He’s been off tonight.”
Later, Aikman chalked up D’Andre Swift’s pivotal 55-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Williams to “just luck on Chicago’s part.”
“It really wasn’t so much intended to be a pick (play by DJ Moore), but it turned into that just based on how it was defended,” Aikman said.
Williams posted on his Instagram account a series of pictures from the game and sights from his hometown of Washington and included in the caption: “‘It was lucky’ -TA.”
“It’s fun. Fun trolls,” Williams told reporters Wednesday at Halas Hall. “I was messing around.
“Yeah, D’Andre made a great play and obviously he (Aikman) had some stuff to say about us or me. I mean, we came out victorious in the end. Made a little fun moment of it. That was about it.”
The complete broadcast of the Bears-Commanders game on ABC drew an average of 12.9 million viewers, according to an ESPN press release citing Nielsen data. The Bears won 25-24.
But Aikman’s controversial commentary seemed to draw as big of an audience — or larger — online, especially as the daytime talk shows jumped in.
Stephen A. Smith, star of ESPN’s “First Take,” said: “I listen to Troy Aikman. … I get it, I’m not refuting anything that he said. But (Williams had) three head coaches and four offensive coordinators in your first 18 months?
“I’m quite sure that if you sat down and you asked Troy Aikman about that scenario, he would be sensitive to that in his judgment toward Caleb Williams.”
Williams said he attempted to sit down with Aikman before the game, but their schedules didn’t allow it.
“I didn’t get to meet with him,” Williams said Wednesday. “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.
“I was here late and timing didn’t (match) up, lifting (weights) or whatever the case may have been. I tried to call him … that day that I was supposed to meet with him, and it didn’t get through.”
Williams was peppered with questions about Aikman’s critiques, and it seemed he tried to thread the needle between not being dismissive of the three-time Super Bowl champion’s opinions while also not validating them.
Asked if the criticisms were fair, Williams said: “I could care less. … Life isn’t fair. People are going to say what they have to say. … We’re only worried about what’s going on here within this building and with these guys.”
On his passes to Zaccheaus and other receivers: “You always want to be able to put your receiver in the best position. That doesn’t always happen. … At the least you try to give them a catchable ball. At the maximum you want to give him the best ball so he can go run. I think there were opportunities for that. I think there were opportunities we missed.”
Initially, Bears coach Ben Johnson took a similar tack in his reaction to Aikman’s comments, taking the most subtle of jabs at Aikman and other pundits who scoff at the fact the Bears’ three-game winning streak includes two one-point victories.
“It sounds like from that game the other night, a few people weren’t particularly pleased with how we’re winning right now,” Johnson told Jeff Joniak on Tuesday on WMVP-AM 1000. “I woke up this morning and my kids were watching the second half before school, and so I heard some of the commentary.”
During a videoconference with reporters later Tuesday, Johnson was asked about his response and said slyly, “Maybe I just had it on mute.”
Johnson at least got the underlying message: The Bears have more to prove, at least to some.
“Listen, you want respect in this league, you’ve got to go earn it,” he said. “That’s where we’re at right now.”
He elaborated Wednesday at Halas Hall.
Asked what the Bears need to do to gain more respect in NFL circles, Johnson said: “I can’t speak for that. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on us as a team and each player, each coach individually.
“You do your best to block the outside noise. We know what we’re building here. We’re starting to believe in each other.”
It appears as if it will take more than five games to reverse the reputation the Bears deservedly earned through years of futility. If there’s a small measure, the Bears have edged up a variety of NFL power rankings in the last couple of days, the highest placing them 17th — knocking on the door of the top half of the league.
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Linebacker T.J. Edwards said the locker room has done a good job of blocking out the outside noise and taking a prove-it attitude on game day.
“I personally could not care less, to be honest with you,” Edwards said when asked whether the Bears deserve more respect. “It’s one of those things where you’ve got to go out there and show what you can do every single week.
“You go out there and play really well, there’s going to be someone who’s going to find something wrong that wasn’t that good. Or, you know, you lose. So they love you and they hate you.”
In other developments Wednesday:
- The Bears released an estimated injury report because they held a walk-through. Receiver DJ Moore (hip, groin), guard Jonah Jackson (ankle), defensive lineman Grady Jarrett (knee), kicker Cairo Santos (right thigh) and linebacker Noah Sewell (concussion) were listed as did not participate. Defensive end Austin Booker (knee) and running back Travis Homer (calf) were full participants; both players are on injured reserve, but the Bears opened the return-to-practice window for them last week.
- Johnson said Santos will remain the starting kicker when he returns from a thigh injury.
- Johnson on why left tackle Theo Benedet was passed over in the 2024 draft: “I mean, he’s tucked away in Canada there. You can overlook some guys like that.”
- Edwards said “it was good to get back out there” after missing the previous two games with a hamstring injury: “I missed it. I wasn’t used to missing some time, really at all.” He had nine tackles Monday, second on the Bears.
