The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday with excellent complimentary football. The defense forced two key turnovers of Matthew Stafford and held their opponent to only one touchdown in four red zone trips. Tory Taylor averaged 55.4 yards per punt for the game and pinned the Rams inside their own 10-yard line three times. Lastly, the offense rushed for 131 yards, finally waking up their ground attack. However, one of the most important stories was Caleb Williams.
The rookie quarterback wasn’t the main star of the show, but don’t let that fool you. He was excellent when the Bears needed him to be. He was an efficient 17-of-23 for 157 yards and a touchdown. His mastery at the line of scrimmage and ability to make accurate throws from the pocket stood out the most. Last week, Williams set a Bears single-game rookie record with 363 passing yards. This week, he added to that list of achievements. His 73.9 completion percentage was the third-best for a Bears rookie in the Super Bowl era, and he also became the first in NFL history to win his first two home games.
Caleb Williams is already proving doubters wrong.
While his numbers haven’t been spectacular, he is doing something many analysts said pre-draft that he wasn’t good at: making plays within the structure of the offense. Williams made himself famous by delivering constant wizardry outside the pocket at USC and Oklahoma in college. It is how he drew comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. However, most of his big plays against Los Angeles were made inside the pocket, including his pinpoint touchdown pass to D.J. Moore. He is already taking steps previous Bears quarterbacks never really made.
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Keep in mind that he’s doing this behind an offensive line that hasn’t exactly been stellar with its pass protection. They’re still making too many mistakes. That said, Caleb Williams is doing what good quarterbacks should—making the most of it. His comfort level seems to grow with each week. The fact he looked this efficient in only his fourth career game should have Bears fans excited. The upcoming schedule is filled with further opportunities for him to stack good games.
