Larry Mayer
After a slow start, Caleb Williams and the Bears’ No. 1 offense finished the first half of Saturday’s preseason game against the Bengals with flying colors.
The unit scored a field goal and a touchdown on its final two possessions, giving the Bears a 10-0 lead en route to a 27-3 victory at Soldier Field.
On the final drive of the half, Williams showed many of the traits that helped him become the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Matt Eberflus on Caleb Williams: “He had a nice, professional day” | Press conference Caleb Williams on his preseason performance and rhythm | Press conference Rome Odunze and Kyler Gordon on the preseason win against the Bengals | Press conference – Arrival photos: Bengals vs. Bears | 2024 Preseason, Week 2
From the Bears’ 48-yard line, the rookie quarterback turned away from pressure in the pocket, rolled to the left, and threw a perfect pass down the sideline to rookie receiver Rome Odunze, who caught the ball on the run and made a 45-yard gain to the Bengals’ 7-yard line.
“I saw (Williams) do that a couple of times in practice,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He was obviously very talented when he was moving and throwing to his left, so it was really good, and Rome tracked the ball well.”
Odunze described the throw as “pretty unreal.”
“Caleb worked his magic there and put the ball exactly where it needed to go and I was there to catch it,” Odunze said. “I just watched it again. Man, he throws with one leg and puts it on my outside shoulder. It’s like ‘oooh.’ It’s magical what he does back there in the backfield. He’s special.”
Williams felt that his play was the result of adhering to the scramble rules and the close bond he had built with Odunze.
“I think both played a big role, probably 50/50,” Williams said. “My only tip is to stay in range. When you’re running a post and you’re already 60 yards down the field, it’s a little harder to throw 60 yards on the run when you’re already down there. Stay in range and be super decisive and detailed for me so I can see exactly what you’re doing. Don’t try to settle down and move and things like that… he did a great job. He broke out on his route, saw me running and then broke up the field down the sideline, left a couple yards on the hashes, and then I tried to give him a great ball; he caught it great.”
Three plays later, on third down and goal from the 7, Williams again showed off his agility and playmaking skills. He stepped up in the pocket, turned away from another defender, rolled to the left, continued to look for a receiver, and then ran behind left guard Teven Jenkins and marched into the end zone.
It was an epic exit for Williams, as he completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards in the entire first half and posted a passer rating of 64.6.
“I’m proud of our coaches for staying with that first group a little longer than they planned,” general manager Ryan Poles said on the FOX 32 telecast. “I think it’s important to give a young quarterback on offense who’s learning a new system the opportunity to process some of those things.”
Eberflus liked what he saw from Williams at Soldier Field on Saturday.
“He had a nice, professional day for a quarterback,” the Bears coach said. “It doesn’t always go well. You don’t complete all the passes, you don’t make big plays right from the start. I saw a good approach: before the snap, in and out of the huddle, really good communication, the rhythm was good. I thought his flow was really good. I also thought his attitude when he got into a little trouble on the sideline was excellent. Body language and demeanor never changed. He was always there, preparing for the next play.”
The Bears defense picked up where it left off a week earlier in Buffalo, extending its touchdown-free streak to nine quarters after holding a second consecutive opponent out of the end zone. The last touchdown the Bears allowed came in the first half of a 21-17 victory over the Texans in the Hall of Fame Game.
The unit made its first impactful play on Saturday early in the second quarter. The Bengals had reached Chicago’s 22-yard line when nickelback Josh Blackwell ran under quarterback Logan Woodside and stumbled his pass. Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga intercepted the ball and returned it 10 yards to the 26-yard line.
On the next play, Odunze returned a 16-yard reverse for the Bears’ first first down. Receiver Tyler Scott then took a 43-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Josh Newton on a post pattern, setting up Cairo Santos’ 37-yard field goal that gave the Bears a 3-0 lead with 9:08 left in the second quarter.
After Williams capped an eight-play, 90-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 10-0, the Bengals cut the deficit to 10-3 with Evan McPherson’s 54-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
On the Bengals’ first possession of the third quarter, cornerback Terell Smith lined up in front of receiver Cole Burgess, intercepted Woodside’s pass and returned it 18 yards to the Cincinnati 42-yard line.
The Bears converted the ball gain into a 4-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tyson Bagent to receiver Dante Pettis, extending their lead to 17-3 midway through the third quarter.
Bagent and Pettis combined for a touchdown pass on their second consecutive drive, this time a 25-yard pass to the right corner of the end zone that increased the lead to 24-3.
The Bears defense then made its third possession when defensive end Daniel Hardy stripped quarterback Rocky Lombardi of the ball during a scramble and defensive tackle Keith Randolph Jr. recovered it at the 50-yard line.
The Bears converted the ball into Santos’ 51-yard field goal to extend their lead to 27-3 with 10:17 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bears converted three possessions into a touchdown and two field goals.
“I thought it was really good, complementary football,” said Eberflus.
Bagent performed well and was replaced by Brett Rypien midway through the fourth quarter after completing 7 of 8 passes for 87 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 151.6.
“Bagent has always done that,” Eberflus said. “We saw him play in games last year; he did a wonderful job for us there, and he’s a good player, he really is, and understands the offense really well. He picks things up really well. He can process a lot of information and is a really good rhythm passer. He can throw really on time… He’s got all the angles, all the speeds you need, and he’s a talent.”
With Saturday’s win, the Bears improved their season record to 3-0. They will finish the season on Thursday night against the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Eberflus has not yet decided whether Williams and the other starters will play in the final. But the coach already knows what to expect from the talented rookie quarterback.
“We’ll watch the video and talk about it as a group,” Eberflus said. “The players are off tomorrow, so we have all day to process this performance from all sides, including the quarterback. Then we’ll look at each other and say, ‘Yeah, that’s good,’ or we need to focus on the next game. We’ll see where that goes.”
“What I’ve learned from him is what I’ve always said: He always rises to the challenge. We’re going to challenge him again this week to improve in basically every area of quarterbacking that he needs to improve. He’s done a really good job of that. We’re just going to take it that way.”
