Caleb Williams’ debut with the Chicago Bears was disappointing, despite becoming the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002. The Bears’ 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was primarily due to their defence and special teams, as the USC icon completed 48.3% of his throws for only 93 yards in the season opener. He did not throw a touchdown and lost a fumble.
“Caleb Williams’ accuracy was atrocious this game,” Bears reporter Bill Zimmerman wrote on social media following the game. “Tip of the cap to him, however, that he avoided crippling mistakes and turnovers that allowed the rest of the team to win the game.”
Chicago scored two scores on a blocked punt and a pick-six, but the offence was forced to punt six times, eliciting boos from the home crowd at several occasions during the game. Head coach Matt Eberflus said that Williams will experience ups and downs before settling into his professional career.
“When you start a rookie quarterback, he’s going to have ups and downs,” Eberflus remarked afterward. “He will have both good and bad moments. We just need to play well with him. We need to ensure that the operation is clean. We need to avoid turning the ball over. It’s acceptable to end a series with a bang. He remained calm, cool, and composed the entire time. Never became frustrated. “He’ll learn a lot in the first three or four games.”
Williams received criticism from six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick earlier this week for his preseason play. The former Heisman Trophy winner played 42 preseason snaps and completed 10-of-20 throws for 170 yards.
“Whoever he played against in the preseason weren’t the best players from the other team,” he remarked. “He wasn’t accurate; he went 10-for-20. There were a few standout plays, but they weren’t really good.
Williams passed for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 12 games for USC last season, a year after winning the Heisman. He completed 68.6% of his passes and led the team with 11 rushing touchdowns. Williams has 4,537 throwing yards and 42 touchdowns as a sophomore at USC, his greatest collegiate season.
Coming out of high school, Williams initially committed with Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma as the No. 7 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback in the 2021 class. He spent his last two college seasons at USC, where his coach was. He was the nation’s top transfer in the 2022 recruiting cycle.
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