Troy Aikman ‘caught off guard’ by Caleb Williams backlash

Troy Aikman saw the backlash to some of his criticisms of Caleb Williams on Monday Night Football, but he has no regrets.

Aikman was widely accused of an anti-Caleb Williams bias during the Chicago Bears 25-24 win over the Washington Commanders last week on Monday Night Football. Williams scored two touchdowns and didn’t commit a turnover in the win. And a belief that Aikman’s criticisms may have been purposeful more than they were analysis within the flow of the broadcast gained traction on social media.

In the wake of that backlash, the former Cowboys quarterback made his regular sports radio appearance with The Musers on The Ticket in Dallas and defended his commentary.

“I haven’t gone back and watched the broadcast,” Aikman admitted. “But over the years, you do a game on live television for three and a half hours, and there’s times when I’ve walked out of the stadium thinking, ‘man, could I have said that maybe a little bit differently? Was I a little bit too hard on this particular player?’

“But Monday night wasn’t one of those. So, I was kind of caught off guard Tuesday night when I first heard about it. I’m still not real sure exactly what it’s all about. But it’s part of the job and it comes with it and I accept that. I’ve been doing this a long time…People are motivated for different reasons, so however it got initiated, I’m not real sure. But it’s not something that I really lose much sleep over.”

Aikman went on to insist he likes Caleb Williams, adding, “I’m a fan of his, I like the way he plays.” The Monday Night Football analyst also praised Williams’ willingness to adjust the way he plays in the structure of a new offensive system and accept coaching from Ben Johnson.

Williams and Johnson were among those who took issue with some of Aikman’s commentary last week. After the win, Williams posted pictures from the game on Instagram while attributing an “It was lucky” quote to Aikman. 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.”

Williams also later noted he didn’t take part in any production meetings with Aikman prior to the game, admitting he missed their scheduled time. Some have speculated that may have bothered Aikman to the point where he was extra critical during the broadcast. Aikman, however, was not asked about that during his interview with The Musers.

Aikman might stand by his commentary. But the next time he calls a Bears game, there will undoubtedly be added attention on his analysis around Caleb Williams. Unfortunately, that won’t be this season, unless the Bears land on ESPN for a playoff game.