Caleb Williams: Glimpses of improvement in Bears' loss to Lions

Caleb Williams Shows Improvements Despite Bears’ Loss

The Chicago Bears faced significant questions about their defense after the loss to the Detroit Lions, who scored 52 points on the scoreboard. Despite the 52-21 defeat, which marked the Bears’ second loss (0-2) in the NFC North in six days, there were signs of progress from quarterback Caleb Williams. In his second game under coach Ben Johnson, Williams threw for 207 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, completing 63.3% of his passes. The Bears have managed to score a touchdown on the first offensive possession in two consecutive weeks, something that did not happen during Williams’ rookie season.

I saw significant growth. It’s still not perfect. There are still some plays where our eyes aren’t in the right position or we hold onto the ball a little longer than we’re training. But I saw tremendous growth in terms of progressing. There were a few times where we had to get to number 3 or 4 in the read and he trusted his feet and his footwork and was able to get there.
Ben Johnson

Williams showed his best performance in rhythmic dropbacks, where he threw the ball between 2.5 and 4.0 seconds, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. In these scenarios, Williams completed 14 of 21 attempts for 191 yards and two touchdowns, compared to 5 of 9 for 16 yards and an interception on quick or extended pass attempts. The number 1 pick of 2024 connected with receiver Rome Odunze on both touchdown passes, totaling three in two games. Although there were plays where both Johnson and Williams believe the quarterback could have acted better, such as throwing the ball out of bounds in the second quarter instead of attempting a pass down the sideline to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, which resulted in an interception, the quarterback is confident that progress will manifest with more repetitions.

I think it’s about being consistent, in our technique, in the plays that are called. And go out there and be technical about it and beat the man in front of you. That includes me. I think we just do that over and over again. We don’t try to create explosive plays. We don’t try to be Superman, and they will come. Everyone just did their one-eleventh, and we kept going.
Caleb Williams

Accuracy was an issue for Williams during the Bears’ loss in the season opener against the Vikings. His completion percentage dropped from 81% in the first half (13 of 16) to 42% in the second half, and his incompletion percentage (29.4%) was the worst among all quarterbacks in Week 1. Williams commented last week that some inaccurate throws could be related to his footwork and hesitation rather than “letting go of his arm”.

In the first game, I missed some passes. I think that [against Detroit], I connected on some key passes and didn’t feel like anything was wrong. My footwork was solid and I was connecting with my teammates, so I think I have to watch the replay and figure out in this game how I can help us physically and mentally, maybe on the sidelines or something. Or talking to the guys, whatever it is.
Caleb Williams

Despite these improvements, there is still work to be done for Williams to perform at his peak consistently. The Lions pressured the Bears’ quarterback on 43.2% of his dropbacks, resulting in four sacks. Chicago was penalized six times on offense, including two for false starts and two for holding. The Bears failed to convert two fourth-down attempts, including a quarterback sneak, and turned the ball over twice.

With a team like that on the other side, they make you pay.
Caleb Williams

The tension rises heading into Week 3. The Bears will host the Dallas Cowboys and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Sunday, 10 months after the former Chicago coach was fired during Williams’ rookie season. Johnson’s goal, as he prepares his quarterback for a defensive coordinator who knows him well, is to build on the steady improvement he has seen in the two games.