CHICAGO — It took nearly an entire half of football, but quarterback Caleb Williams finally provided everyone at Soldier Field — and those watching across the country — with glimpses of what’s to come this season and beyond. On second-and-10 from the Chicago Bears’ 48, Williams spun out of the pocket, rolled to his left and lofted a perfect pass to rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze down the left sideline for a 45-yard gain. Advertisement It was a first down with some fireworks.
Williams wasn’t done, though. His magic act was just beginning. On the next play from the Cincinnati Bengals’ 7 after the two-minute warning, Williams danced with and then around defensive end Justin Blazek before scrambling toward the sideline and firing a pass to Odunze who was open in the back of the end zone but clearly out of bounds.
“Man, that was just a mistake by me,” Odunze said. “I thought I was ‘Tony Toe Tap’ back there.” It would have been a better play than the 45-yard reception if the rookie receiver had two feet inbounds, but Williams still had more up his sleeve.
And you know coach Matt Eberflus loves that. That's just beautiful 🥹 📺: FOX pic.twitter.
com/JOQoHwRRC5 — Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 17, 2024 On third down, Williams easily evaded Bengals defensive linemen Cedric Johnson and Travis Bell as he escaped the pocket, scanned the end zone and then ran the ball in himself for a touchdown behind guard Teven Jenkins . It made his Chicago debut a success as the Bears rolled to a 27-3 win against the Bengals. “That’s the type of quarterback he is,” Jenkins said.
GO DEEPER Can Caleb Williams be the next Joe Burrow? That's the Chicago hope It shouldn’t matter that those three highlights came against Bengals reserves or that it took until the final 2:41 of the first half for all of them to happen. What matters most is that plays like them keep coming in different settings against different competition. Williams is getting better.
The glimpses of stardom are not only adding up but becoming consistent. Williams’ 45-yard shot to Odunze was similar to those he’s unleashed to different receivers since the star of training camp at Halas Hall. It was part scramble-drill rules and part chemistry between two young players.
“It’s magical what he’s doing back there in that backfield,” Odunze said. “He’s special.” Advertisement And he’s clearly developing.
The improvements that Williams started to show in camp against the Bears’ starting defense traveled with him to Buffalo. He then carried a strong performance against the Bengals’ first defense during a rainy joint practice Thursday into the exhibition game at Soldier Field on Saturday. Williams is not only stacking good days but good weeks.
“He always rises to the challenge,” Eberflus said. “And we’ll challenge him again this week to improve on basically everything of quarterbacking that he needs to and he’s done that.” GO DEEPER How 'reading tea leaves' and some luck put Bears offense on the brink of something special Williams was on the field against Cincinnati for 23 plays, including pass-interference and false-start penalties.
Williams was 6-for-13 for 75 yards and a 64.6 passer rating. Williams and the offense went three-and-out on their first three possessions.
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. dragged Williams down from behind for a sack, too. “That wasn’t the (offensive line’s) fault,” Williams said.
“I gave up a sack. I was in the pocket too long, trying to do too much.” At the very least, Saturday served as a reminder that Williams — as electric as he can be at times — remains a rookie who can and will struggle.
He’s allowed to have those bad moments. He will fail. But the way Williams responds to failure is becoming a storyline, too.
Two days on the field against the Bengals provided some examples of that resolve, starting with throwing an interception on his first pass during seven-on-sevens in the joint practice and then ending with his touchdown run at Soldier Field. Eberflus described Williams’ performance on Saturday as “a nice professional day at quarterback.” Williams’ disposition on the sideline with his teammates despite the offense’s early problems was excellent, Eberflus said.
“That’s being a quarterback,” he said. “You have to be a leader. He demonstrated that today by the way his demeanor was and the way he had poise and the way he came back.
Eventually, things are going to crack and he did a nice job with that today.” GO DEEPER Bears 'Hard Knocks' takeaways: Rookie backstories, ice cream with DJ Moore and family Before the 45-yarder to Odunze, Williams’ best pass wasn’t caught. His deep ball to receiver Tyler Scott landed on the grass along with yellow flags thrown by the officials.
The pass-interference penalty by Bengals rookie cornerback Josh Newton turned into a 43-yard gain. It was an incompletion that Williams felt great about. Advertisement “I do think Scott makes the catch,” Williams said.
“I tried to give him enough air so he could run under it and run away from the guy. The cornerback, he pulled him. And we got the PI.
I think he would have ran under it and scored a touchdown if not.” What also shouldn’t be forgotten is that Williams’ touchdown drive started on the Bears’ 10. Running back Khalil Herbert had the first highlight with a cutback and a 21-yard run.
But Williams didn’t have receivers DJ Moore or Keenan Allen to throw to on that possession. Williams had an 11-yard completion to receiver Nsimba Webster on the drive. All of it made for a worthy experience for a quarterback who needs more of them to be ready for his rookie year.
He turned it into a successful day with his own playmaking. “We’re going to keep working to be perfect,” Williams said. “We understand that we won’t be able to reach that.
But in up-and-down games and things like that, you can win the games, as Coach said, in the fourth quarter.” In the preseason, that can happen late in the second quarter just before halftime, too. (Top photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images).
