In his first NFL game with the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams played like a rookie quarterback.
But he managed to win. Williams threw for only 93 yards on Sunday, and Chicago’s offense had a tough time against Tennessee.
Despite this, Williams didn’t make any turnovers, and the Bears relied on their defense and special teams to pull off a surprising 24-17 win over the Titans.
“Obviously, it’s great to get this first win,” Williams said. “And we’re all excited, went into the locker room, celebrated. I sat down, enjoyed the moment. And just watching the other guys, I understand that I need to be better. I will be better.”
Wearing painted fingernails with #18 DA BEARS, the 22-year-old Williams became the first quarterback drafted No. 1 overall to win his first career start since David Carr in 2002.
He also joined John Elway, Terry Bradshaw, and Steve Bartkowski as the only quarterbacks chosen No. 1 in the draft era who threw for fewer than 100 yards in their season opener.
He missed some throws and held on to the ball too long at times. However, he still controlled the game at the end, taking a knee twice before leaving Soldier Field with the win.
“We didn’t perform how we wanted to. We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included,” Williams said. “Didn’t perform the way I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss. All these other things.”
Chicago hopes Williams can fix a long-standing quarterback issue for the team. The talented player had an impressive career at Oklahoma and Southern California before being picked by the Bears with the top draft pick in April.
For a No. 1 draft pick, Williams has an unusual amount of talent around him. D.J. Moore had 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Keenan Allen was brought in through a trade with the Chargers in March, and Rome Odunze was the No. 9 pick in the draft this year.
These three wide receivers, along with new running back D’Andre Swift, were all kept in check by Tennessee as Williams experienced regular-season NFL speed for the first time.
“When you start a rookie quarterback, which we are doing, he’s going to have ups and downs and good moments and other moments,” coach Matt Eberflus said.
“Like I said, we just have to play well around him, make sure the operation’s clean, make sure we don’t turn the ball over and give people short fields and free plays. And it’s OK to end the series with a kick.”
After going three-and-out on its first possession, Chicago moved to the Tennessee 25-yard line the second time it had the ball. But the drive ended when Williams tried to escape from two pass rushers and was sacked for a 19-yard loss.
DeAndre Carter’s 67-yard kickoff return led to Cairo Santos’ 24-yard field goal late in the first half, marking Williams’ first scoring drive of the day.
“He was himself,” Moore said of Williams. “He never got too high or too low about anything. So that was good.”
Chicago was behind 17-10 late in the third quarter when Williams showed both his learning curve and potential in just two plays. He threw an incomplete pass towards Moore after missing an open Odunze but then ran for 11 yards on third-and-10.
“I don’t think there was any anxiety. He was calm, cool and collected the whole time,” Eberflus said. “Never got frustrated. We always talk to him about the response you have of just hanging in there, because sometimes it can get rough on both sides. It can get rough. You’ve just got to hang in there.”
Williams completed 14 of 29 passes and was sacked twice. He also rushed for 15 yards. While Williams did a good job of protecting the ball, Titans quarterback Will Levis threw two interceptions—including one that was returned for a Chicago touchdown—and lost a fumble.
“I don’t care about stats. … To be honest with you, I feel great,” Williams said. “I understand that obviously the stats weren’t where I wanted them to be and things like that, because I want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. Didn’t do that today. We’re going to get better tomorrow.”
