Even though quarterback Caleb Williams was always confident in himself, he still found his NFL preseason debut reassuring as he helped lead the Chicago Bears to a 33-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
It had been nearly nine months since the rookie No. 1 draft pick had played in a competitive game.
“Last time I was out there on a field other than practice was November 18th,” Williams said, referring to Southern California’s final regular-season game against UCLA before he sat out the Holiday Bowl.
“You go that long without something, it’s tough. But no, it’s been great. The guys made it fun. They made it easy on me.”
His Bears teammates felt the same way about Williams, who showed good awareness and calmness in the pocket, connected with receivers on the run, and demonstrated his dual-threat ability by scrambling 13 yards for a first down on third-and-9.
“It was great. Everybody was open today,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Yeah, it gives you a lot of confidence going into the season.”
Williams, 22, completed 4 of 7 passes for 95 yards, leading two drives that resulted in field goals. While he wasn’t flawless—Williams almost threw an interception on a play that was nullified by a Bills penalty—the quarterback directed an offense that gained a total of 152 yards and seven first downs on 20 plays over two possessions.
The game was decided a minute into the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville intercepted a pass from Shane Buechele and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown, putting Chicago ahead 19-6.
Velus Jones scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, and Ian Wheeler added touchdowns with runs of 7 and 8 yards in the last six minutes.
For Buffalo, Josh Allen went 2 for 3 for 22 yards and had a 7-yard run while playing the first quarter of the Bills’ preseason opener. Allen was replaced by backup Mitch Trubisky to start the second quarter, and the drive ended with Tyler Bass making a 24-yard field goal to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-3.
Bills coach Sean McDermott was unhappy with the performance, noting that the four-time defending AFC East champions allowed 340 yards while gaining only 200, and crossed midfield only twice on 11 possessions.
“Our standard was not out there today. That’s not how we play,” McDermott said. “If you had a blood pressure cuff on me during that game, it probably would have exploded.”
The coach had calmed down enough after the game to acknowledge that Tyler Bass had also made a 49-yard field goal. McDermott also mentioned that Buffalo finished the game without any injuries.
For the Bears, Williams was the main focus after he and the starters did not play in their preseason opener, a storm-shortened 21-17 win over Houston on August 1.
Williams, who is set to become the Bears’ second rookie quarterback to start a season since the NFL merger in 1970, showed no issues with his timing or getting in and out of the huddle, which he had struggled with during training camp.
Williams demonstrated his skills with a strong and accurate pass on his first attempt, completing a 12-yard throw to a tightly covered DJ Moore to convert a third and 12. His longest completion was a 42-yard screen pass to running back D’Andre Swift.
He also completed a 26-yard pass to Cole Kmet, where he faked a handoff, rolled to his right, and hit the tight end along the sideline.
Chicago’s first drive ended at Buffalo’s 12-yard line after three straight runs, and the Bears had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Cairo Santos. The second drive ended at Buffalo’s 15-yard line after Williams was pressured and overthrew rookie Rome Odunze in the end zone.
“There’s certainly positivity there, and we’re not going to squash that,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said about Williams’ debut, emphasizing that both the quarterback and the team need to keep improving.
Williams agreed. “To get out there and have the confidence that we had out there, it’s only going to get better. And we can’t wait,” Williams said.
