One huge overreaction to the Chicago Bears’ week 1 victory

The Chicago Bears’ season-opening victory this past Sunday at Soldier Field hasn’t felt like a true win if you’ve turned on local sports talk radio or logged onto social media. The Bears’ come-from-behind 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans was not your ideal victory, with the defense and special teams scoring the Bears’ only touchdowns. The offense struggled, and the Bears’ win had little to do with Caleb Williams. However, the overreaction to Caleb Williams’ poor play is just that - an overreaction.

Did Caleb Williams play poorly on Sunday? Yes. Was he atrocious? No. Williams completed 14-of-29 passes for 93 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, good for a 55.7 QB rating. It was obvious that Williams was playing in his first NFL game when he overthrew wide receiver Keenan Allen on an out-and-up route on the Bears’ first drive. Allen gained separation from Titans’ safety Amani Hooker on what would have been a sure touchdown had Williams been able to get Allen the ball.

A few plays later, Williams took a 19-yard sack when he spun and ran backward to avoid Titans’ defensive lineman Keondre Coburn, only to be finished off by defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day. To be fair, this was a play where Coburn came at Williams nearly untouched as the offensive line missed the block. Even so, Williams needs to get out of the pocket and throw the ball into the stands rather than take such a loss of yardage.

There were a number of other passes that were overthrown by Williams as his accuracy was off most of the day. Call it first-game jitters or being nervous, but we all seem to forget that Williams is a 22-year-old rookie who has a lot to learn, and there’s nothing wrong with that. To those who point to Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had huge success as a rookie last year, that is not the norm. Most quarterbacks don’t enter the league and light it on fire in their first season.

One player I love to reference is Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who threw 28 interceptions as a rookie in 1998. Manning threw three of those picks in his first career start with the Indianapolis Colts, a 24-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He would throw three more interceptions the following week, and in week 3, Manning posted an abysmal 39.3 QB rating while throwing two more interceptions in a 44-6 loss. Manning would overcome his slow start to his career to become what you know him as today - one of the best to ever play the position.

The point that needs to be emphasized in Caleb Williams’ less-than-impressive stat line Sunday is that he didn’t turn the ball over. Another point to remember is that the Bears’ offensive line had a brutal game, and there were a number of plays where Caleb had little time to throw. While Caleb didn’t win the game with his performance, he avoided the costly mistakes that can lose a game, which is more than can be said of Titans’ QB Will Levis.

Caleb Williams and the offense have a lot to work on, but progress will be made. Williams is learning the complexities of being an NFL quarterback while starting as a rookie. There will be mistakes, but there will also be moments of brilliance. It is far too early to start questioning whether Williams is capable. None of us can know for sure what trajectory Williams’ career will take, but I do know that Bears fans need to relax, enjoy the week 1 win, and look for progress out of Williams as we go forward.