Caleb Williams and the majority of the Chicago Bears starters received what could be their most extensive work of the preseason Saturday in a 27-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field.
Williams and the Bears first-team offense played the entire first half, bouncing back from a slow start against Bengals backups to put up 10 points.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said afterward his staff would review film Sunday to determine whether they will play any of their starters against the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason finale Thursday.
Whether Saturday was the last preseason appearance for the starters or not, there were plenty of moments to draw from as the Bears get ready for the next time they play at Soldier Field — Sept. 8 in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. Here’s a look at five of the moments that mattered Saturday.
1. A ‘magical’ play
Social media was abuzz Saturday afternoon with exclamations about Williams’ longest play of the day, a 45-yard pass to wide receiver Rome Odunze on the Bears’ first touchdown drive.
Williams spun away from pressure to his left, took about seven steps while looking downfield and then ripped a throw to Odunze while leaping into the air. The throw fell right in front of Odunze to catch in front of cornerback Josh Newton, bringing the Bears to the 7-yard line.
When Williams was asked how he is able to get power and accuracy on such an off-balance, cross-body throw, he apologized first to Bears nation for what he was about to say about the player who was Enemy No. 1 for so long.
“Watching Aaron Rodgers and all of his times in the past 19, 20 years. He can do unbelievable things, (running) right, left, running straight, doing all these other things,” Williams said. “Just practicing it over time. Just perfecting it. There are going to be times where I don’t put it exactly where I want it to. But today it worked out. … Rome had a good exit plan from his route and got upfield and made a marvelous catch, a wonderful catch and I tried to just give him a shot.”
Williams’ throw was a prime example of the playmaking ability that has the NFL world so excited about the No. 1 draft pick.
Odunze had just finished rewatching it in the Bears locker room when he called it “unreal, honestly.”
“He’s throwing off of one leg, putting it on my outside shoulder,” Odunze said. “It’s like, woooo. It’s magical what he’s doing back there in that backfield. So he’s special.”
2. Tony Toetap
The 45-yarder wasn’t the only Williams-Odunze connection of the day, but it was the only one that counted.
On the next snap, Williams made another spectacular play, slowing down to throw off defensive end Justin Blazek, then speeding past him to obtain a throwing window. He launched another off-balance throw, and it landed in the hands of Odunze, who thought he was in the end zone.
Odunze’s feet were just outside of the back of the end zone. The rookie wide receiver saw a second line a few feet behind the first and thought that was the end line. It was a mistake he is determined not to repeat.
“I thought I was Tony Toetap back there,” Odunze said. “I thought I had at least a foot. If you see me, I was confident with it too. But a mistake. I’ve got to know where I’m at on the field, got to have an awareness to be able to do that.”
The mistake ultimately didn’t cost the Bears because Williams ran in for a 7-yard touchdown two plays later. So Odunze can accept it as a learning experience.
And the Bears can look at the Williams-Odunze connection as a bond continuing to grow.
“We’re going to be explosive,” Williams said. “We’re two rooks, but we’re trying to catch up to the old guys as fast as we can to make sure that we’re right there on par with them to be able to be efficient, function, go out there and be explosive, be on the same page and win games. … Having a guy like that that was drafted with me, we’re only going to keep growing and keep building this connection.”
3. Big comeback
Bears nickel Kyler Gordon was a little surprised when he saw that he was going to be unblocked on a blitz of Bengals quarterback Logan Woodside in the first quarter. Gordon came off the defense’s left side and leveled Woodside for a sack and an 8-yard loss.
“That (sack) changes the whole game, puts a little pressure on him,” Gordon said. “He’s getting hit. He don’t want to get hit no more. He’s going to start looking around and being more aware of that. Any time you get a chance to disrupt the QB and his play, it’s big for the defense.”
Gordon said it was “not fun” to sit out recently during training camp with an injury, but he showed he is back to his old hard-hitting self Saturday. He also had a tackle for a 3-yard loss earlier in the drive, had a stop for a 1-yard gain on third-and-2 and finished with four tackles.
“Bringing that nickel slot pressure is a good thing,” Eberflus said. “We’ve always done that. Guys have seen that forever. It’s nothing new. We feel really good about what Kyler can bring. He has a really wide range set in terms of his skills. He’s good in man, good in zone, good in all the things we do that way and good at pressuring. So we like sending him, and he’s good at it.”
The Bears depth in the secondary also showed up, as Josh Blackwell, a special teams ace and valued backup, had a quarterback hit on another blitz of Woodside, who threw an interception to linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga. Cornerback Terell Smith, who started four games as a rookie in 2023, also had an interception.
4. QB2 Progress
Williams and Odunze weren’t the only duo making beautiful connections Saturday.
When the starters went to the bench in the second half, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and wide receiver Dante Pettis connected for two touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the third quarter. Pettis beat Newton with a stutter step for a 4-yarder first to put the Bears up 17-3.
And then Bagent lofted a perfect throw down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown that Pettis caught in stride for a 24-3 lead.
The Bears entered camp feeling good about what they have in Bagent as the backup to Williams, and he has helped solidify that. He completed 7 of 8 passes for 87 yards, and afterward, Eberflus said it was more of what Bagent showed them last season.
“Understands the offense really well, picks up things really well, can chunk a lot of information,” Eberflus said. “He’s a really good rhythm passer. He really can throw on time. … He has all the angles and speeds you need, and he’s a talent.”
Meanwhile, Pettis, who doubles as a usually reliable if not flashy punt returner — though he had one for minus-3 yards Saturday — is trying to make a case to make the roster in a crowded wide receivers room.
5. The spark
While Williams made some stunning plays Saturday, he and Eberflus were realistic in stressing that the offense had some problems to start the game.
The Bears went three-and-out on their first three possessions, with 16 total yards. Williams noted he and DJ Moore and Keenan Allen weren’t on the same page on a couple of incompletions. He blamed himself for his lone sack, saying he stayed in the pocket too long trying to do too much. And he said he rushed the cadence at one point leading to a false start.
But what impressed Eberflus through the rough start was how Williams handled himself professionally, maintaining a positive demeanor and working with his teammates to make corrections.
“You have to be the leader,” Eberflus said. “He demonstrated that today by the way his demeanor was and the way he had poise and the way he came back. Eventually, things are going to crack. He did a nice job with that today.”
The crack came on the Bears’ fourth drive when Williams dropped back and launched a deep ball to second-year receiver Tyler Scott. It dropped perfectly just in front of Scott, but Newton pulled him from behind, resulting in a 43-yard pass interference penalty. Williams thought Scott would have caught it.
“I was a little hurt because I really wanted that (completion), to be honest with you,” Williams said. “I do think Scott makes the catch. I tried to give him enough air so he could run under it, run away from the guy, the cornerback, he pulled him and we got the (penalty) and I think we would have ran under it and scored a touchdown if not.”
