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Caleb Williams made his NFL debut with the Chicago Bears on Sunday in a 24-17 win against the Tennessee Titans. But Williams did very little to contribute to the Bears' victory.
The Bears' No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft was mediocre, forgettable at best. He completed 14 of 29 pass attempts for just 93 yards while taking two sacks for a loss of 29 yards. He didn't throw (or run) for any touchdowns, but he also avoided turnovers, recovering his only fumble.
The Bears were down 17-3 at halftime–with boos pouring in toward Williams–but could have been down by only three or even tied if Williams hadn't missed some key passes. However, a second-half rally led by the defense and special teams kept the Titans scoreless after the break, helping the Bears secure their first win of the year.
Though Williams didn't put any points on the board himself, the Bears' victory made him part of some dubious history. He is the only rookie quarterback to attempt 25-plus passes while throwing for under 100 yards in his first start and still win the game.
“It was a frustrating game,” Williams said, per ESPN. “But the most important thing is that it shows a bunch of the personality of this team, I would say — the fight, the resiliency that we had.”
Williams is also the first No. 1 overall rookie quarterback to win his NFL debut since 2002. But once you get through all the history markers and stats—or lack thereof—there was bound to be the typical overreactions about the former USC quarterback's first game and his potential future.
Overreaction: There's no difference between Caleb Williams and past Bears quarterbacks
NFL pundits and social media users are pointing to how little the rookie quarterback contributed to the Bears' win. There are certainly similarities to what the team has been dealing with for decades: an inability to break away from an atypical Bears game.
Historically, the Bears are one of the worst teams in NFL history at the quarterback position. They've never produced a quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in a single season. With 16 games left in his first NFL season, Williams has only 3,907 yards and 30 touchdowns to go.
“Yeah, I don't care about stats. I feel great,” Williams said, per NFL.com. “To be honest with you, I feel great.
“We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. Didn't perform the way I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don't miss. All these other things.”
Williams, like many before him, is supposed to come in and change the Bears narrative. In his last two seasons playing for the Trojans, he threw for over 8,000 yards and 72 touchdowns. For whatever reason, the Bears can't stop repeating the past and change their identity of being a defensive team. Williams' first game was yet another glaring example of that. Given Chicago's history and its championship drought since 1985, overreactions are inevitable—especially when it involves the No. 1 draft pick.
Comparisons between Williams and former quarterbacks like last year's starter, Justin Fields, will be frequent. That's a given due to the Bears' history. But it's also important to remember that Williams didn't lose the game for the Bears either. He could have easily turned the ball over and put Chicago in terrible situations.
Overreaction: Caleb Williams is inaccurate
Among the three rookie quarterbacks who earned their first NFL starts on Sunday, Williams was by far the least accurate, completing just 48.3 percent of his passes. The Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels led with 70.8 percent, while Bo Nix completed 61.9 percent of his passes. They each threw for over 100 yards as well. However, Williams was the only one to come away with a victory.
In his three years in college, Williams never hit the 70 percent completion mark. His career total was 66.9 percent, with his best year last season at USC, completing 68.6 percent of his passes. If Williams were to hit that mark in the NFL, he'd likely be among the top five in the league.
It's important to remember that this was Week 1, and even though he said he doesn't get nervous, it's reasonable to assume there were some jitters before, during, and after the game for the rookie. Falling below 50 percent of passes completed in a game is certainly concerning, but this must be contextualized. Not every quarterback comes in and plays like CJ Stroud did last year. This was one game in the first week of the season.
The game sped up on Williams, as it does for every quarterback coming out of college. Also, don't forget Williams could have likely hit the 100-yard mark and gotten his first NFL passing touchdown if not for a drop by Keenan Allen in the front corner of the end zone. Williams put the pass right on the money, but Allen just couldn't come up with the catch.
The challenge will get much tougher next week for Williams and the Bears when they travel to Houston to face the Texans.
