Sunday was the highly anticipated debut of quarterback Caleb Williams with the Chicago Bears. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of USC, expectations are very high for the collegiate star.
His first regular season start didn’t go exactly as planned. He struggled, completing 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Williams did fumble the ball once and was sacked twice. One of the sacks he got a first-hand lesson on this no longer being the Pac-12 as he kept moving backward attempting to avoid the rush unsuccessfully.
According to ESPN, 31 percent of his throws were off target, something that will have to be drastically cut down for this offense to reach its potential. He also averaged only 3.2 yards per pass attempt.
“We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included,” Williams said. “Didn’t perform the way that I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss, all these other things.
“Obviously, it’s great to get this first win. We’re all excited. Went to the locker room, celebrated. I sat down, enjoyed the moment, just watching all the guys celebrate understanding that I need to be better, I will be better.”
While his production was underwhelming, he did get the job done in one statistic; a victory. The Bears, who trailed 17-0 to the Tennessee Titans are one point in the game, were able to come back and win 24-17.
As shared by Bleacher Report, that was something we haven’t seen done since 2002. Williams is the first No. 1 overall pick to win their debut since Derek Carr did it with the Houston Texans.
The former Heisman Trophy winner will be credited with the victory, but the defense and special teams are what carried the team in Week 1. He was not happy with his performance, but the outcome makes it a little easier to swallow.
“It was a frustrating game,” Williams said. “But the most important thing and it shows a bunch of the personality of this team, I would say. The fight, the resiliency that we had.
“And we weren’t shaming on anybody. Defense not getting on the offense, all these other things. It shows the personality, how much everybody believes in ourselves, the Chicago Bears, defense believes in the offense, offense believes in the defense, special teams and so forth.”
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