The Chicago Bears leaned heavily on the run game in the team's 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Week 13 matchup.
And for good reason.
D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each ran for over 100 rushing yards and scored a rushing touchdown on a day when the Bears ended with 281 total rushing yards.
Caleb Williams and the passing game didn't have nearly as much success. The second-year quarterback finished 17-of-36 for 154 yards and threw a touchdown and an interception. Williams connected with Cole Kmet on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Bears a 24-14 lead with 6:19 left in the game.
There were two opportunities in the first half, though, that could have potentially resulted in scores, but the offense couldn't capitalize.
Ben Johnson responds to what happened on Williams' misses
Bears head coach Ben Johnson provided insight on Williams’ incomplete pass to Olamide Zaccheaus in the end one two plays before Swift scored the Bears’ first touchdown of the game.
“The first one was a keeper to the right, and we didn't quite get the execution on the front side the way we wanted to,” Johnson said. “And so, Caleb quickly got off of it. We actually call that backside route by Olamide a hero post, on the backside of our keepers. It's one of those that's almost rarely ever thrown. We always talk about, ‘Hey, if you're a third or fourth string quarterback in the preseason and you want to be a hero, that's when you throw that thing.’ It's so rarely thrown. He happened to find it, it was open, and we just barely missed that thing. So that was that one.”
On the Bears’ next offensive possession, Williams had an opportunity to hit Rome Odunze for a touchdown, but couldn't connect with the second-year wide receiver on a second-and-10 play from the Eagles 12-yard line.
“And then the other one to Rome is very similar to where Rome was on the backside of the concept,” Johnson said. “Rome ran a great route, and Caleb was working through his progression. The front side didn't work out the way that we needed it to. And so, as he was getting back to his second and third read, he ended up seeing Rome pop and just left it a little bit short. So, both of those were a little bit of him just seeing the field really well, similar to the (TE) Cole (Kmet) touchdown, where it was not necessarily the primary or secondary read, yet he's seeing it, and he's trying to pull the trigger to the open guy. So, I think it was good on his behalf being able to see all that.”
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Obviously, Johnson and Williams would have liked to have completed those two missed throws, but even seeing those options in the first place was a positive. However, Williams will have to complete those types of passes, like he did to Kmet, for this offense to take the next step and maximize each opportunity.