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The first three games for Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams have been less than ideal compared to the lofty expectations he entered the season with. After another up-and-down outing in Sunday's 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, fans who wanted the Bears to keep Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields are becoming restless.
Despite the increasing noise, NFL insider Dan Graziano believes it is much too early to claim the Bears made a mistake in drafting Williams and moving on from Fields, via ESPN.
“It's three games! Fields played 40 games for the Bears before they decided to move on from him and draft Williams. Sure, the rookie and his offense in Chicago have not looked good. But in fairness, how good has the Steelers' offense really looked? Pittsburgh is averaging 17 points per game. Full credit to coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the rest of the Steelers' coaching staff for putting Fields in a position to succeed, executing some do-no-harm game plans and leaning on an excellent T.J. Watt-led defense to propel them to a 3-0 start. And kudos to Fields for making the improvements he needed to make in his game while the Steelers spent the whole spring and summer telling everyone Wilson was the starter.”
There is zero doubt that it is too early to claim that Caleb Williams is doomed and Justin Fields is headed for a long, successful career in Pittsburgh. However, Fields has looked like a cool customer with the Steelers so far and has them out to a 3-0 start while Williams and the Bears are 1-2 with two straight losses.
Caleb Williams or Justin Fields?
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Growing pains are natural for a rookie quarterback, but Bears fans undoubtedly want more production soon from an offensive unit that has only scored three touchdowns in the young season. Williams threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but he also threw two costly interceptions and had a devastating fumble late in the fourth quarter that led to the Colts' game-sealing touchdown. Justin Fields has been efficient and avoiding turnovers meanwhile in Pittsburgh.
Fields was 25-32 for 245 yards with two total touchdowns to one interception in the Steelers win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He showed poise in the pocket and was accurate on medium throws to the middle of the field and the sidelines, an area where he struggled in Chicago. He didn't have many splash plays, but he did enough to win, and this is the crux of the argument for those who want to take him over Williams.
A home outing against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday will be huge for Caleb Williams in quieting the noise that the Bears made a mistake by investing in him. Justin Fields and the Steelers will look to keep the pressure on with a 4-0 start looming behind a matchup with the Colts next week.
