Stephen A. Smith tells Caleb Williams to ‘stand down’ against Troy Aikman

If you have a problem with Troy Aikman’s negative commentary on Caleb Williams during Monday Night Football, then you have a problem with Stephen A. Smith too.

Caleb Williams helped lead the Chicago Bears to a road win over the Washington Commanders this week on Monday Night Football. But it may not have seemed that way if you were listening to Aikman on the broadcast. The overwhelming perception has been that Aikman’s criticism of Williams seemed excessive throughout the win. And to those who weren’t happy with Aikman’s performance, Stephen A. Smith would like a word.

“Anybody in the world of football who has a problem with him talking about a quarterback should really, really check themselves.” – Stephen A. Smith defends Troy Aikman pic.twitter.com/8YGCEw0fc3

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 15, 2025

“One of the proudest moments I believe we should have is when we acquired Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to do Monday Night Football,” Smith said Wednesday morning on First Take. “You’re talking about the A-Team. And you’re talking about a guy in Troy Aikman who is a three-time Super Bowl champion, smart as a whip, incredible integrity.

“And Anybody in the world of football who has a problem with him talking about a quarterback should really, really check themselves. You could have people just as qualified…there’s nobody more qualified than Troy Aikman to be talking about the quarterback position in the National Football League. So, everybody just needs to stand down.”

Among those who would need to stand down are Williams and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. In the wake of the Monday Night Football victory, Williams responded by posting pictures of the game on Instagram while attributing an “It was lucky” quote to Aikman. And Johnson similarly called Aikman out during an interview with ESPN Chicago, saying, “It sounded like from that game the other night, a few people weren’t particularly pleased with how we are winning right now…I heard some of the commentary.”

The second-year quarterback had no turnovers and scored two touchdowns in the win for Chicago. But many Bears fans were convinced Aikman was too focused on the negatives with Williams, while being less critical of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

This is a frequent criticism of national announcers and analysts. Joe Buck has been accused of hating nearly every NFL and MLB team at various points in his career. So, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for Aikman, who would probably defend his commentary if he listened back to the broadcast. But he doesn’t have to. Once protected by the Great Wall of Dallas, Aikman is now being protected by Stephen A. Smith.