Forget that it was against the Carolina Panthers. Forget that the Chicago Bears were supposed to win this game. Forget everything you thought you knew about rookie quarterback Caleb Williams coming into Week 5.
Forget all of it, because on Sunday afternoon against the Panthers, Williams finally looked every bit of the no. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.
The Panthers quickly found out what could have been, had they never made that blockbuster trade with Ryan Poles and the Bears. That wasn't the only thing they found, though. Carolina also found themselves on the side of a humiliating loss to the Bears.
Williams was dealing all day long. And, the Bears' offense once again looked like a well-balanced, well-oiled machine behind Williams and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
It took a little time, but the Bears got there. Williams was the beneficiary of Waldron staying committed to the run game as the Bears carried it 39 times on the day while Williams went 20-of-29 passing for 304 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and he was only sacked one.
Waldron ran a pretty fast-paced offense in this one, especially in the first half. The Bears saw the offense go either no-huddle or sort of pseudo-quick huddle, for lack of a better explanation. When Williams is able to go at a quicker pace and keep the defense on its heels, that's when we've seen him really excel.
And he did so today. He looked comfortable, in full command and better than he has all season long.
Caleb Williams' second TD pass to D.J. Moore proved everything for the Bears
Williams' top target on the day was former Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore, and appropriately so. In this "revenge game," Moore caught five passes for 105 yards and a pair of scores. His second touchdown catch, though, was really special.
On this particular play, Williams took a shotgun snap and immediately looked to his right where he had Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen bunched together. Allen appeared to get open, which caused Williams to glance his way. Williams essentially looked off the safeties, forcing the secondary to lean Allen's way.
The second those safeties looked over at Allen, Williams fired it right into the bucket of Moore, who had a step on his man. It was an absolute thing of beauty.
It was exactly what Bears fans have been waiting to see. This is why you drafted Caleb no. 1 overall. This is only the tip of the iceberg.
You can watch a slick angle of the play here. This angle shows the exact moment Williams knew he had the defense where he wanted them, and there was no hesitation with his throw. It was a top-level throw, no doubt.
Next, Williams and the Bears get the Jacksonville Jaguars in London for their Week 6 tilt. The Jacksonville defense has given up 34, 24 and 47 points in their last three games, respectively.