Caleb Williams' strong Week 1 stats contrast with a modest PFF passing grade
Despite throwing four touchdowns and posting a 124.1 passer rating in Chicago's 59-37 win, quarterback Caleb Williams received a 64.0 passing grade from Pro Football Focus, reflecting the grading system's focus on execution rather than box-score results.
Chicago's offense posted 552 total yards and eight touchdowns in a 59-37 victory over the Carolina Panthers, setting a franchise record for points in a season opener. Quarterback Caleb Williams contributed 334 yards and four touchdowns, completing 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards and adding 65 rushing yards with two scores. He posted a 124.1 passer rating and no interceptions.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) assigned Williams a 64.0 passing grade, ranking him 16th among the 30 quarterbacks who attempted at least 13 passes. The grade reflects PFF's play-by-play evaluation, which measures a quarterback's reads, decisions and throw quality independent of the final statistical outcome.
Williams dropped back 40 times; eleven of those plays earned positive grades (+0.5 or +1.0), 23 were rated as expected (0.0), and six received negative grades. Five of the negatives were minor (-0.5) and one was a significant error (-1.5) on a fourth-quarter play that resulted in an interception later nullified by a penalty. Although the interception did not appear in the box score, PFF counts the mistake in its grading.
The quarterback's accuracy metrics also illustrate the disparity. He completed 72.4% of his passes, yet only 53.8% of his aimed throws were deemed accurate, placing him near the bottom of the league in that category. PFF notes that completion percentage alone does not capture the quality of ball placement.
Overall, Williams posted a 27.5% positively graded play rate, above the league average, and a 15.0% negatively graded play rate, matching the average. He recorded a 6.5% big-time throw rate and a 2.5% turnover-worthy play rate, both ranking in the top third of qualifiers.
PFF explains that its grades are designed to reveal how a quarterback performed on each play, not just the end result. In weeks where execution and outcomes align, the grade and box score will be similar; when they diverge, as in Williams' Week 1 performance, the grading system provides additional context.