Caleb Williams left the Washington, D.C., area to become a national star. Now he is coming home
So, how often does “third-and-33” come up these days?
For Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears quarterback, perhaps not so much.
But for Sam Sweeney, a corporate real estate associate and Williams' high-school receiver for two years, someone mentions “third-and-33” more than you might think.
Just the other day, in fact, Sweeney was tailgating at a Navy football game when some of his high school friends reenacted the play to get a rise out of him.
“It's still crazy, to this day,” he said. “To think, that was almost six years ago.”
For an old man like me, six years go by in a blink of an eye. But in 2018, Mitch Trubisky was quarterbacking the Bears in the playoffs and Caleb Williams was a high school sophomore.
On Nov. 18, 2018, Sweeney caught a pass from Williams on third-and-33 to help the Gonzaga College High School Wild to a 46-43 comeback win over DeMatha Catholic in an unforgettable Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game.
People called it the best high school game of all time, and the ending was a moment people would talk about for the rest of their lives.
Here's a quick recap: Gonzaga trailed DeMatha all game and was behind the chains due to a sack on second down that, unbeknownst to everyone, resulted in Williams' broken leg.
As a second-year starter as a second-year starter, Williams dropped back into the huddle on third-and-forever and found Swinney deep down the right sideline to keep the drive alive. It was a perfect throw for Sweeney to pick apart for the catch and make it happen. Williams connected with Sweeney again to go ahead with 29 seconds left.
But DeMatha took the lead on a Squibb kick return touchdown with 15 seconds left. Mass protests erupted at Cardinal Stadium on the campus of Catholic University. But what it did do was set up a hero moment for Williams.
Gonzaga got the ball back with no timeouts and 10 seconds left at its 34-yard line. With four seconds left, Williams unleashed a 53-yard Hail Mary into the waiting hands of receiver John Marshall in the back of the end zone. game over chaos A story book is over.
For Sweeney, who went on to play lacrosse at Penn State, his catch and that play were a perfect way to end his football career.
For Williams, who threw six touchdown passes in a game that deserved national attention, it was the first sign of a journey from the Washington, D.C., Catholic League to the No. 1 pick in the NFL. Watch the tape. These weren't high school quarterback throws. And definitely not throw the sophomore.
Sweeney had a front-row seat to the beginning of Williams' legend. Now, as a first-year associate with real estate firm CBRE in D.C., he'll also love a seat for this stop, as Williams prepares to play the NFL's version of a homecoming game Sunday against the Washington Commanders at Northwestern Stadium. Landover. Md.
When we spoke earlier in the week, Sweeney was looking at the secondary market and decided he'd probably look at home.
“We had season tickets, my family, and we got rid of them probably six, seven years ago,” Sweeney said wryly. “And now, we're finally good.”
“We” means the Commander. Sweeney is a diehard fan, and if Chicago comes down with Caleb Williams fever, well, Sweeney and the rest of the greater DC area are dealing with Jayden Daniels delirium.
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Both fan bases have been starving for good quarterbacking (and football, in general) and finally getting a seat at the dinner table with the rest of the league.
It could be a two-QB race for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Williams and Daniels can Attach yourselves to their NFL careers. Bears fans hope it doesn't end up like the Trubisky-Patrick Mahomes comps. Early results for the Bears look much better.
“Hopefully, it's like the next generation of great quarterbacks and these two are leading the way,” Swinney said.
The Williams-Daniels matchup was so enticing That Sunday's game was moved from noon to a prime-time spot in the late afternoon with CBS' No. 1 team calling. Much of the country will be watching to see if the Williams-led Bears offense looks strong against the Commanders. As the defense did against inferior teams like the Panthers and Jaguars.
In his Wednesday media session, Williams praised Daniels' play — “happy for him and great to see him go out” — but wasn't forthcoming in answering questions about the emerging contender. It's a little early.
“Obviously, he's on the same NFC side, so I'll see him a good amount,” Williams said. “We will look to the future from this game. But I think it would be great for us, a war between us, as you all want to talk about. My job is to go out there and win games for the Chicago Bears.
It's good. The Bears have needed a quarterback to fill that role for some time.
And it's probably going to be an unrealistic narrative anyway. Daniels suffered a rib injury and missed practice on Wednesday, so we're all expecting Williams vs. Marcus Mariota, which is a lot less juicy.
Still, everyone loves a homecoming story. Good local boy and all that. Williams, who grew up in Maryland, is ready to show the locals how far he's come.
“Since I left high school, I haven't been back except once or twice,” Williams said. “So it's going to be great to be able to go back and share the experience. It's going to be fun. The most important thing is to come out with a win.”
Just don't ask him for the ticket.
“I used all my tickets,” he said with a smile. “I'm definitely excited.”
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As for Sweeney, he will be somewhat conflicted watching the game.
“I hope Washington wins, but I want Caleb to throw for 500 yards and eight touchdown passes,” he said.
One of their high school teammates, Kai Holmes, isn't a Commander fan, but he can sympathize with why some of their teammates would root against their friend.
“It's a bit of a love-hate thing where you want to see Caleb do well, but at the same time, everybody wants their team to win,” he said.
Their old coach at Gonzaga, Randy Trivers, isn't dealing with any cognitive dissonance. He's actually a Cowboys fan.
“I'm not a Commander fan personally, but I am a Caleb Williams fan,” Trivers told me this week. “It's no secret who I'm going to root for on Sunday.”
Gonzaga has its last home game of the season on Saturday, and the next day, Trivers is bringing his entire football team to the game. Usually, Sundays are for work, taking film and preparing a game plan. But on this field trip he is making an exception.
“It's a Sunday where I'm going to plan the game in the morning and plan more games later,” he said. “But on game day I'm going to put my boots on the ground and I'm going to hang with him with my heart, my body, my soul, every game. It will be fun.”
Trivers hasn't been able to see every snap of Williams' first six games, but he's been keeping up with his progress through the first two months of his NFL career. He's not surprised that his game has improved every week.
Stats via Bears QB Caleb Williams @Larry Holder
1-3 weeks
-0.27 dropback per EPA (28th)
65.3 passer rating (28th)
59.3% Completion (30th)
-0.61 EPA vs. Blitz (29th)4-7 weeks
0.33 EPA per dropback (3rd)
122.8 passer rating (3rd)
74.1% Completion (2nd)
0.37 EPA vs Blitz (7th)— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 23, 2024
“I mean, I would never give up on Caleb,” he said. “It's just what he is, what he's always been at every level. He is an elite competitor, and has qualities that are uniquely powerful. So nothing he does shocks me.
Playing quarterback in the NFL is one of the toughest jobs in sports, and doing so as a rookie adds another layer of complexity. Only the best can make it through the ups and downs and last in a starting job for longer than the first contract.
It's early, but no one who coaches or plays with Williams seems worried. And they knew his early struggles wouldn't define him.
“I don't really want to say it, but I'm not really surprised,” said Holmes, a safety at James Madison and a fellow 21 grad from Gonzaga. “I've played with Caleb since we were together in eighth grade, and I've been nothing but proud of him for all his progress in high school, college and now the pros. … It's not like it's going to get any easier from the get-go. So let him get comfortable and then everyone will see what he is capable of.”
Personality questions dogged Williams in the pre-draft rumor mill, but they're unfounded — and almost silly — now we've seen him in action. Williams seems born for this role.
“He's got a natural charisma that allows him to connect really well with other people,” Trivers said. “He has a great blend of humility and confidence. That mix is really good in a leader.”
Most importantly, he can really play.
Looking at those 2018 highlights now, you'll wonder how a teenager stayed so calm in such a nerve-wracking situation. And today you can see that quality in him. Even when he struggled, Williams didn't seem fazed. And now that he's got his bearings, you can see why people expect so much of him.
“I guess for him, he knows he's been in this situation before, he knows he's capable of making plays,” Holmes said. “He knows he's made plays in the past. So it's like when those moments arise, he can just sit there, be calm and collected and bring that sense of calm to everyone else on the team because it's possible.”
“We all know he's been able to do this since he was 15, 16 years old,” Sweeney said. “And now that he's doing it in the NFL, it's pretty cool to say you've seen it before.”
(Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
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