Caleb Williams Makes NFL History in Chicago Bears Debut

Making his NFL debut in front of his home crowd at Soldier Field against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the pressure was on Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to deliver a memorable performance.

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner did just that as he took the Bears from a 17-0 deficit and led them on a run of 24 unanswered points to pull off the 24-17 win and give Bears fans just their third season-opening victory since 2014.

But perhaps even more impressive than the come-from-behind win is the fact that Williams also made history, becoming just the fourth QB drafted No. 1 overall to win his NFL debut, and the first since 2002.

The feat puts Williams in pretty rare company as two of the three to previously do so — Jim Plunkett and John Elway — were multiple-time Super Bowl Champions.

The third, David Carr, won a Super Bowl as a backup with the New York Giants later in his career but he had a pretty forgettable 11-year NFL run.

Williams’ stat line wasn’t pretty — he completed 14 of 29 passes for just 93 yards with two sacks taken and he rushed for 15 yards on five carries — but he didn’t turn the ball over and he kept Chicago in the game long enough for its special teams and defense to score touchdowns and get the team back in it.