Now Williams is embarking on a crucial rookie season, trying to lean on a veteran team around him as he navigates the highs and lows that come with quarterback development in the NFL.
The Tribune is tracking Williams’ progress along the way, game by game, as he tries to cement himself as the future of the Bears franchise.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates while coming off the field after a victory over the Titans at Soldier Field on Sept. 8, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in the season opener felt “unbelievable,” Caleb Williams said . He became the first quarterback picked No. 1 in the draft to win in his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002 and the first Bears rookie QB to win the season opener since at least 1950.
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.”
The Bears offense 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 with 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.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) heads for the locker room after a 19-13 loss to the Texans at NRG Stadium on Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Unlike Week 1, when the Bears defense and special teams scored touchdowns, the offense needed to carry the load — and didn’t come through. In a sloppy game that included 21 penalties between the teams, the Bears got in the end zone just once — their only offensive touchdown of the first two weeks.
The Bears had the ball and a chance to win with 1 minute, 37 seconds to play. Williams hit Rome Odunze with a 27-yard pass to get to the Bears 47-yard line. But Williams threw incomplete, was sacked for a loss of 8 yards, rushed for 1 yard and threw incomplete again on fourth down.
Williams completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked seven times . The Bears totaled 71 rushing yards, with Khalil Herbert scoring the only touchdown on a 2-yard run shortly before halftime.
Week 3: Colts 21, Bears 16
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) walks off the field after losing against the Indianapolis Colts 21-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Despite all of the ugliness, all of the mistakes that had preceded the moment, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took a snap with a chance to lead the winning drive with 6 minutes, 52 seconds to play against the Colts.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound rookie from UCLA burst off the line of scrimmage and barreled around Bears tight end Cole Kmet. Williams said he could feel Latu coming, and he tried to step up in the pocket and make small movements. But he could see wide receiver Rome Odunze about to pop open behind the linebacker and prepared to throw.
With Kmet falling to the ground as he tried to stop it, Latu swatted at the arm of Williams, who fumbled. Colts nose tackle Grover Stewart pounced on the ball at the Bears 16-yard line. Four plays later, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the deciding play in a 21-16 Colts victory .
The Bears offensive issues were the primary factor in their returning from Indianapolis 1-2 — from the strip-sack to Williams’ two interceptions to a painful first-half red-zone sequence in which the Bears ran 10 plays inside the 20 and four from the 4 or closer and didn’t score any points.
Week 4: Bears 24, Rams 18
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates his touchdown pass to DJ Moore (left) against the Los Angeles Rams in the third quarter on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Williams’ final line — 17 of 23 for 157 yards and one touchdown with five rushes for 12 yards — isn’t going to stand out at the end of the season. But the effort came in a victory, he played clean football and he avoided some of the pitfalls that put the offense in a hole in previous games.
Some of the subtle decisions Williams made included being more comfortable with outlet throws and checkdowns, curbing the urge to extend the play, looking for an escape hatch in the pocket and creating outside of the structure. But he looked more comfortable operating within the structure of the offense and living for the next down, which is a legitimate hurdle for a lot of young quarterbacks.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates as he heads to the locker room after a victory over the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field in Chicago on Oct. 6, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
As the Bears wound up for their first-half knockout punch against a wounded and staggering Panthers team, DJ Moore found himself isolated to the left and drawing man coverage from cornerback Mike Jackson.
Caleb Williams used a pre-snap check to realign the Panthers defense. Most significantly, with three other dangerous Bears weapons spread to the right, safety Xavier Woods began cheating in that direction before the play began.
Moore beat Jackson with an inside release and angled his deep route toward the post. Williams, after steering Woods with his eyes, came back to Moore with a golden opportunity. The young quarterback ripped a pretty deep ball through the afternoon’s unpredictable winds.
“It was just a dot,” Moore said. “We work on that in practice. And when he threw it, I was like, ‘Man, this is a touchdown.’ Because I knew I had crossed the corner’s face and there was nobody in the middle of the field. So I was like, ‘This is my ball or it’s nobody’s.’ And 99% of the time, it’s mine.”
Williams’ pass dropped perfectly into the back of the end zone where Moore went up in front of Jackson to haul it in, then bounced to his feet with fire in his eyes and that primal scream exploding from deep within.
Week 6: Bears 35, Jaguars 16 in London
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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates as he heads to the locker room after a victory over the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 13, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a few words with himself on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sideline.
DJ Moore was open streaking toward the left corner of the end zone in the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Williams didn’t put enough “juice” on the ball. It floated through the air a little bit more than he wanted, and that gave Jaguars safety Andre Cisco time to jump in front of Moore for an interception.
He was in command, efficient and — but for that interception — on point for much of the game as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns apiece to Cole Kmet and Allen, and a 124.4 passer rating. He also rushed for a career-high 56 yards. His four touchdowns were the most by a quarterback at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in 2019.
Week 8: Commanders 18, Bears 15
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The Chicago Bears tip a Hail Mary pass that Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (85) caught for a touchdown to win the game on the final play of the fourth quarter on Oct. 27, 2024, at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Caleb Williams thought he did a good job of tuning out the hoopla leading up to the game, which was billed as a showdown between Williams and the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels , the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 NFL draft. It was also a homecoming for Williams, who grew up in Maryland and played high school football in Washington D.C.
But Williams and the Bears offense, which have struggled all season with slow starts, certainly didn’t look cool and collected prior to the fourth quarter. They went scoreless in the first half, and Williams completed just 4 of 13 passes for 36 yards and had seven carries for 36 yards in the first three quarters.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Williams’ rhythm and timing, which had flourished in the Bears’ previous three games, was off.
There were glaring missed opportunities . Williams gained 1 yard on third-and-2 in the second quarter, and his pass to DJ Moore on fourth-and-1 on the next drive went for no gain. Williams then took a 15-yard loss on a third-down sack late in the first half which pushed the Bears out of field-goal range. But the most notable error was a third-and-goal call from the 1-yard line with 6 minutes, 21 seconds to play.
Next up on the schedule
Week 9: Bears at Cardinals on Nov. 3 (3:05 p.m., CBS-2)
Week 10: Bears vs. Patriots on Nov. 10 (noon, Fox-32)
Week 11: Bears vs. Packers on Nov. 17 (noon, Fox-32)
Week 12: Bears vs. Vikings on Nov. 24 (noon, Fox-32)
Week 13: Bears at Lions on Nov. 28 (11:30 a.m., CBS-2)
Week 14: Bears at 49ers on Dec. 8 (3:25 p.m., Fox-32)
Week 15: Bears at Vikings on Dec. 16 (7:15 p.m., ABC-7)
Week 16: Bears vs. Lions on Dec. 22 (noon, Fox-32)
Week 17: Bears vs. Seahawks on Dec. 26 (7:15 p.m., Prime Video)
Week 18: Bears at Packers on Jan. 4, or Sunday, Jan. 5 (TBD)
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