Awestruck Caleb Williams ‘inspired by Tom Brady speech’ as footage emerges of NFL Draft meetings

Jan 13, 2026 - 17:30

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears pulled off a thrilling comeback on Saturday night.

The second-year quarterback rallied his team back from an 18 point deficit against their greatest rival, the Green Bay Packers, in the elements at Soldier Field.

Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears celebrates after an NFL Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers at Solider Field on January 10, 2026 — Williams and the Bears took inspiration from Brady with an epic comeback

Williams’ standout moment came late in the game, when he made a clutch throw and connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 1:43 remaining.

Minutes before that, he also pulled off an incredible 27-yard pass to Rome Odunze on 4th-and-eight, to keep the Bears offense on the field.

Chicago went on to win 31-27 in a memorable wild-card game, and moved on to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

It was a historic turnaround, and one that evoked memories of the legendary New England Patriots comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, which fans of the losing team have never been able to live down.

Led by Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, the Pats overcame a 28-3 deficit to emerge victorious on the biggest NFL stage of all.

Williams, it seems, might well have had that game in the back of his mind on Saturday.

Tom Brady comeback inspires Caleb Williams magic

Following Chicago’s wild-card win against the Packers, footage of Brady discussing New England’s comeback in front of the 2024 NFL Draft class resurfaced.

That group, of course, included Williams — and the No. 1 pick was seen listening intently as the seven-time Super Bowl champion spoke.

Brady, discussing how to overcome adversity, said: “The greatest comeback game of my life was down to Atlanta, 28-3 in the Super Bowl.

“It could have been the worst game of my career, literally the worst game. It could have been the most embarrassing loss of my career.

Tom Brady discusses his Super Bowl LI comeback with the 2024 NFL Draft class, which included Caleb Williams — Brady detailed his Super Bowl LI comeback in a speech about adversity

“Instead, based on our attitude and our competitiveness, it turned out to be the best game of my career and our team’s career — the history of the Patriots franchise.

“With 18 minutes left in the game, we’re down by 25 points.

“All that adversity that you’re going to face, that’s going to build who you guys are.”

As Brady delivered his message, Williams was sat next to him, laser-focused on everything the NFL legend was saying.

Fans convinced Tom Brady message was behind Caleb Williams’ performance

Clips of the meeting, which took place in May 2024, have gone viral in recent days.

“Notice Caleb seems to be the only one with his eyes on Brady the whole time and actually listening to what he is saying? Greatness,” one fan wrote on X after watching the video.

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots takes the field prior to Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 — Brady pulled the Pats back from 28-3 down in the greatest SB comeback in history

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 — He went on to finish his career with a record seven Super Bowl rings

“Kind of cool that Caleb is locked in and coincidentally has seven amazing comebacks this year,” another said.

“Greatness inspires greatness,” a third simply said.

“Caleb really took that to heart and applied it to his daily actions,” a fourth wrote, while a fifth concluded: “Caleb was locked in listening to the GOAT!”

To further the idea that Brady played a role in the historic Bears comeback, coach Ben Johnson revealed that he sat his team down to watch Super Bowl LI during training camp.

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He told reporters: “That was my message to the group.

“Was just reminding them that this has been done before.

“And rather than saying ‘woe is me’ and ‘oh, crap, we’re in a hole,’ it’s more of an opportunity for us to turn this thing around into a game that we’ll never forget.

“That’s what they did.”

Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears celebrates with his teammate Olamide Zaccheaus #14 of the Chicago Bears following an NFL wild card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on January 10, 2026 — Bears HC Johnson also showed his team Super Bowl LI in training camp

Thanks to that Brady-inspired comeback, the Bears booked a ticket to the Divisional Round, and will host Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.

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