When Caleb Williams went to the Chicago Bears locker room after his first NFL win Sunday at Soldier Field, the rookie quarterback took a moment to sit down and absorb his teammates’ celebration.
The 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in the season opener felt “unbelievable,” Williams said. He became the first quarterback picked at No. 1 in the draft to win in his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002 and the first Bears rookie QB to win in the season opener since at least 1950.
And yet, he also knew where he fell short.
“Just watching all the guys celebrate understanding that I need to be better,” Williams said. “I will be better.”
On a picture-perfect afternoon on the lakefront that began all about Williams’ debut, the Bears defense and special teams units saved the good vibes. Tyrique Stevenson’s pick six against Titans quarterback Will Levis. Jonathan Owens’ blocked punt return for a touchdown. Jaylon Johnson’s game-sealing interception. Cairo Santos’ three field goals.
Those were the plays that made up the comeback from a 17-0, second-quarter deficit and caused Williams to nearly lose his voice cheering at the end of the game.
The Bears offense, meanwhile, netted 148 yards, went 2-for-13 on third down and didn’t score a touchdown. Williams completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards, had a 55.7 passer rating and had five carries for 15 yards. He was sacked twice to help the Titans kill drives, including taking a 19-yard loss on the Bears’ second series.
When Williams arrived at the postgame news conference in a plain white T-shirt, he good-naturedly greeted a full media room. And then on the first question, he rattled off a list of plays where he could have performed better.
He threw just a little bit in front of D’Andre Swift and DJ Moore on a pair of passes, he said. He wasn’t on the same page as DeAndre Carter on a deep pass down the left sideline.
Williams thought he was seeing things well and didn’t think the speed of the NFL game was too much. But mistakes killed them, he said.
“We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included,” Williams said. “I didn’t perform the way that I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss, all these other things. The small things always lead up to big things and make those moments a lot bigger. They make games a lot closer.”
There weren’t a ton of highlight-reel plays for Williams to address. He had only four passes of more than 10 yards, the longest a 13-yard gain by Moore in the second quarter.
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That was on the Bears’ only scoring drive of the first half, which included a wild deflected pass to Moore. The ball popped up in the air, and rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze caught it. But Odunze fumbled the ball following a big hit from safety Amani Hooker. Bears left guard Teven Jenkins recovered it.
The Bears settled for a 24-yard Santos field goal to cut the halftime lead to 17-3 after Keenan Allen dropped a touchdown pass and Williams had a pass batted on third down.
“That was a great first play for a ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment,’’ Odunze said of his fumble. “I make a great play and instantly get blasted and lose the football.”
Not much was easy for the Bears offense Sunday, except for the two-point conversion following Stevenson’s touchdown. Swift went in motion to the left and was wide open to catch Williams’ pass.
“Those are the hardest ones to catch,” Swift joked.
Swift was held to 3 yards per carry — 10 carries for 30 yards — and said the Bears “have a lot to get better at.”
But when he saw Williams sitting in the locker room after the game, looking around and taking it all in, he offered some encouragement.
“I’m like, ‘Bro, you’re going to be good in this league for a long time,’” Swift said. “‘We won the game. It’s a good feeling knowing we can be so much better, and we came out with a win.’”
That’s where the Bears found positives Sunday, in their belief that there’s much more to Williams and this offense as Chicago pines for a new era of Bears football.
Week 1 photos: Chicago Bears vs. Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field
Swift said he thought Williams was “real poised” during the game despite the struggles. Carter added that he stayed in command of the offense and showed resilience.
“He was calm, cool and collected the whole time,” coach Matt Eberflus said of Williams. “Never got frustrated. I always talk to him about the response that you have, just hanging in there because sometimes it can get rough on both sides. It can get rough. You’ve just got to hang in there. And you’ve got to have that belief, belief in the man next to you, belief in your teammates. It’s not just about one guy. That’s what I saw at halftime, and they exhibited that in the second half.”
Williams was asked after the game if he had ever played a game that frustrating. He didn’t have to go too far back — when he threw three interceptions in USC’s loss to Notre Dame last October.
So he knows how to bounce back from challenges. After dinner with his family Sunday night and about 15 hours of downtime, he planned to get back to work for the Week 2 “Sunday Night Football” clash with the Houston Texans.
“Whether it’s a win or loss, you expect to play a certain way, you expect yourself to perform a certain way, to make passes, whether it’s just a routine pass or an insane kind,” Williams said. “That didn’t happen today, so it’s enough motivation for me. We’re going to somebody else’s home this week, and so it’s enough motivation for me to go out there and get better this week, and make sure I perform differently next week.”
Odunze has no doubt Williams will use the performance Sunday as fuel.
“Oh, man, that’s one of the most competitive dudes that I know,” Odunze said. “He’s got like that Michael Jordan makeup to go make something happen. So now that we had a day like we had today, this is going to fuel us even more and continue to make us want to get better and better.”
