Caleb Williams took his first snap in the National Football League on Saturday afternoon in Buffalo. It was the first game action he’d seen since he was at USC, and it began the same way his Southern California career ended, with a handoff.
Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus gave Caleb Williams and the first-team offense two drives to get their feet wet this week, and Williams impressed in his limited reps. Let’s talk about his performance today.
Drive No. 1
There weren’t many mistakes by Williams this afternoon, but one of them came on the opening drive when he rolled right on second down. Darnell Wright was called for holding, but he shouldn’t have been engaged in that block for as long as he was.
Williams🤡 pas🥂sed on Rome Odunze over the middle, and decided to flee the pocket right to return to his one and two on the route (DJ Moore and Keenan Allen).
Caleb Williams made two mistakes today. One was the throw nearly picked off when the corner undercut Odunze's route near the sideline on the second drive.
The other was on his first dropback. He hesitated on his No. 3 receiver (Odunze) on that route over the middle and fled the… — Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers)
If you watch the replay, Williams gets to Odunze, and simply decided not to throw it. There was a defensive back in zone♏ coverage about five yards behind Odinze, and the gain would have likely been minimal, but it was still the correct choice for m൲y money.
Williams next dropback came on 3rd & 12, and he drilled DJ Moore with a surgica𓆏lly placed rocket for the first down.
Caleb Williams To DJ Moore
— Gustavo (@iamvega1982)
Can 🍬we take a second to appreciate this throw? The velocity was impressive in real-time, and look at the window Williams fit this into:
The very next play, Williams’ improvisational skills were on display when he flipped a fass to running back D’Andre Swift with the pocket collapsing around him and a hand in his face. Swift did the rest, breaking it off for a 42-yard gain deep into Buffalo territory.
I saw some call it Williams’ “Mahomes impression,” and I’ve said before, comparing Williams to Mahomes isn’t fair to either player, but it’s not an inaccurate reference point. You can call it what you want, I’ll just call it impressive.
. goes for 42yds 💨
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears)
📺: FOX
The opening drive ended with three Khalil Herbert runs and a Cairo Santos field goal that made it 3-0 Chicago.
Overall, it was an impressive drive for Williams and the offense. Williams gave us a little taste of everything: extendability, arm talent, accura🧸cy, feel for the pocket, and the improv skills. He also showed us some of his ro🐈okie flaws with the turn down of Odunze that led to the holding penalty.
Drive No. 2
Williams’ second mistake of the day came on his first dropback on the Bears’ second possession, when he tried to force a ball to Rome Odunze at the sideline with a cornerback draping the rookie wide receiver. There was an illegal contact penalty on the defense that gave the Bears five yards and a fresh set of downs, but that was a throw that could have easily been interecepted.
Williams connected with DJ Moore on a designed screen out of the backfield that went for 12 yards and another first down, and Khahlil Herbert followed that with a first d🐟own run of his own the set the Bears up with a 1st & 10 from their own 41.
Then came Williams’ most impressive thow of the day, a 26-yard completion to Cole Kmet into Buffalo territory:
. with a dart to 😮💨
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears)
📺: FOX
Two things to point out here: First, the pump fake can’t be overlooked. It’s something I watched him do to perfection on his USC tape, and it set this play up by taking the pass rusher off of his down hill path to Williams and making him move horizontally toward the sideline. Second, we’re eyes upfield looking for a throw, and when he sees his window, he’s able to hinge his hips and torso toward his target and fire off a strike to Cole Kmet. Everything about this play is why Williams was the no-brainer choice for the Bears. Ten out of ten, no notes, and a chef’s kiss there.
Williams was four-of-four for 95 yards at thඣat point, and would have a nice scramble gain for 13-yards up the middle (with the fancy slide at the end), a pair of nice throws dropped by Kmet and M𒆙oore, and a smart throw-away to Rome Odunze in the back of the end zone before his day came to an end.
Thouhts on Caleb Williams’ Preseason Debut
Williams checked every box today, and he reminded everyone why they shouldn’t lose their minds over practice reports in training camp. The offensive line played pretty well today, Khalil Herbert showed his signature burst a handful of times, and overall, Shane Waldron’s gameplan was impressive, even in the vanilla state that it is in the preseason. I’m excited to see what it looks like in Week 1. I came into the game wanting to see Williams play another series or two more than he did, but he was so efficient in those two series that it wasn’t even necessary.
A solid day at the office, overall, for Williams. On to the next 🥂one.
