For years, choosing the Chicago Bears in Madden felt more like a punishment than a preference. Low ratings. Limited options. A quarterback situation that reflected reality a little too closely.
That era appears to be over.
This week, EA Sports quietly did something that caught the attention of both Bears fans and the quarterback at the center of it all. In the latest update to Madden 26, Caleb Williams was awarded not one, but two Superstar abilities â a designation reserved for players the game considers genuinely game-changing.
Williams noticed immediately.
âGot my own ability crazy!â he wrote on social media, reacting to the update with a mix of disbelief and humor. The post didnât feel like a victory lap. It felt like someone realizing the conversation around him had shifted.
The abilities themselves tell the story. âAgile Extenderâ gives Williams an almost automatic escape from the first blitzing defender. âGutsy Scramblerâ boosts his accuracy while throwing on the run or under pressure. On paper, theyâre video game mechanics. In context, theyâre reflections of what Williams became in 2025.
The jump didnât happen overnight. Williams began the season rated at 75 overall â a number that felt generous to some and optimistic to others. By yearâs end, he had climbed to an 85, placing him just behind Jordan Love and Jared Goff, quarterbacks who had already entered MVP conversations.
Still, some will scoff at the word âsuperstar.â
That reaction has followed Williams all season. Each step forward has been met with hesitation. Each moment of brilliance framed as premature. But the on-field evidence has been steadily removing those qualifiers.
A year earlier, the Bears surrendered a franchise-record 68 sacks. In 2025, that number dropped to 24. Credit goes to an improved offensive line, but numbers donât capture Williamsâ feel for pressure â the way he senses collapse before it arrives, slips free, and resets the play. That awareness isnât scripted. Itâs learned.
And then there was the throw.
In Chicagoâs Wild Card win over Green Bay, Williams completed a pass that immediately entered the leagueâs highlight canon. Rolling, under pressure, season hanging in the balance â he delivered a strike that defied angle and expectation. It wasnât just a conversion. It was a statement.
That moment didnât feel lucky. It felt inevitable.
Williams finished the season with seven comeback victories â a number that doesnât align with accident or coincidence. Teams donât repeatedly win games they âhave no business winningâ without someone tilting the odds.
This is where the video game detail becomes interesting.
Art imitates life, the saying goes, but only when reality insists on being copied. EA Sports didnât manufacture these abilities out of hype. They responded to data, tendencies, outcomes. In that sense, the Superstar label isnât a marketing flourish â itâs an acknowledgment.
Of course, Williams still trails Drake Maye in overall ratings. He still has areas to refine. He still hasnât checked every historical box Bears fans dream about. But the label debate may already be outdated.
Superstar doesnât mean finished. It means foundational.
The resistance to calling Williams that often says more about expectations than performance. Chicago quarterbacks arenât supposed to feel inevitable. They arenât supposed to bend games late. They arenât supposed to look comfortable when everything breaks down.
Williams has been doing exactly that.
So when a video game hands him abilities that mirror real life, the reaction isnât surprise â itâs recognition. The league has been adjusting. Defenses have been adjusting. Now even the virtual world has caught up.
Caleb Williams didnât become a superstar because a game said so.
The game said so because, by 2025, it didnât have much choice.
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