Caleb Williams joins Hall of Fame company with struggles in rookie debut

Caleb Williams' struggles in his rookie debut for the Chicago Bears on Sunday was a glass of ice-cold water splashed in the face of every fan.

If anything, it was a reminder that rookie quarterbacks are prone to struggling during their first stretch of games at the NFL level and Williams is not exempt from that fact. Let alone, failing to score a touchdown, Williams failed to eclipse 100 passing yards with a completion percentage under 50%. It looked bad on Sunday for Williams but for all the hot takes there will be about the struggles of the 2024 first-overall pick, the Bears' rookie is already in the same category as some Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

Caleb Williams' NFL debut struggles aren't anything new for top-drafted quarterbacks.

So, yes, Williams was bad on Sunday but he is still on track to be a Hall of Famer by the time that his career concludes. All jokes aside, Sunday was yet another reminder that for all the talk there was of Williams repeating the success that C.J. Stroud had last season with the Houston Texans, it doesn't happen overnight.

That doesn't mean the Bears can trust that the game plan they had on Sunday should be the game plan they have moving forward. For the most part, there wasn't anything too negligent with the Bears' game plan. This was not the criminal coaching offense that was Justin Fields' first NFL start against the Cleveland Browns in 2021. But there are slight adjustments that Shane Waldron may want to make.

It almost seemed that Waldron was trying to will Williams into finding comfort on Sunday. That's not a bad mindset to have but when a rookie quarterback appears to be unsettled, it may be a better course of action to depend on the running game. Williams had 29 pass attempts on Sunday compared to D'Andre Swift having 10 rushing attempts. When the Bears take on Stroud and the Texans this upcoming Sunday night, the Bears should look to use Swift as a way to establish the offense before turning to try to get Williams comfortable in the passing game.