Caleb Williams’ 35-yard touchdown to Rome Odunze in the Chicago Bears' 31-14 win against the Cowboys last Sunday wasn't just the first points scored in the game. It was also a sign of progress.
Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs attempted to jam Odunze at the line of scrimmage, but Odunze swiped the defensive back's hands away on his release. Diggs slipped on the Soldier Field turf, and that's when Odunze altered his initial route, ran vertical, and threw up his left arm to signal to Williams that he was open.
The Bears’ second-year quarterback recognized it and fired an accurate pass for the first touchdown of the game.
After the Cowboys game, Rome Odunze said he adjusted his route when he saw Trevon Diggs slip. I asked Ben Johnson how encouraged he was that Caleb Williams and Odunze were able to capitalize on the adjusted play.
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) September 24, 2025
"That’s the natural connection that they have. It was a great… pic.twitter.com/5VQBLflBNx
What did the Bears see in that play with Williams and Odunze
Bears head coach Ben Johnson highlighted the significance of the rep when he was asked about it on Wednesday.
“That’s the natural connection that they have,” Johnson said. “It was a great release by Rome. And we see growth all across the board from Week 1 all the way to Week 3. That’s a good example of it. In Week 1, we had one of those mailbox plays and we weren’t able to connect. In Week 3, we did.”
Johnson mentioned a similar “mailbox” play that the Bears failed to complete in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings. Late in the fourth quarter, DJ Moore altered his initial route and went vertical, similar to Odunze, but Williams couldn't connect with his veteran receiver.
On the Wednesday after the Week 1 game, Williams was asked about the play.
“Yeah, so that unfolded, and DJ ended up converting,” Williams said. “The safety was tucked inside, and just ended up not being on the same page with the ball and things like that. And he ended up doing a good job popping his hand up in the air and showing me. And I’ve just got to deliver him a good ball, probably a line drive next time, and just get the ball in his hands as fast as possible. And let him go be special from there."
The following Thursday, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was also asked about the misconnection between Williams and Moore. Doyle stated that “we’ve just got to get those two guys on the same page, and really the correction is across the board for the whole offense. It's good for everybody to see that and how we want to handle that in the future."
Read more: Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson answered the call with critical plays against Cowboys
The Bears learned from that initial mistake and made the Cowboys’ defense pay with a 35-yard touchdown. If all the players in Johnson's offense can continue to learn from their mistakes, as Williams and Odunze did, then this offense will continue to improve and score points.