Caleb Williams’ NFL debut wasn’t pretty, but it was a win for Chicago Bears

CHICAGO – Caleb Williams is the future. He’s here to lead the Chicago Bears to victories. He’s here to be the All-Pro quarterback the Bears believe he can be. He was the No. 1 overall draft pick in April. He has drawn comparisons to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

In his NFL debut on Sunday at Soldier Field, his offense didn’t score a touchdown. No matter, the Bears leaned on their experienced defense and special teams units to erase a 17-point deficit in a win, 24-17, over the Tennessee Titans.

In high school and college, Williams was used to leading his team to victory. A year ago, he had to carry a USC team that couldn’t stop anyone defensively. On Sunday, the tables had turned. The Bears defense was carrying Williams.

“That’s the NFL for you,” Williams said. “It’s hard to win in this league.”

That’s the NFL for you. It’s hard to win in this league.”

—  Caleb Williams, Bears quarterback

Williams became the first quarterback drafted No. 1 overall to win his NFL debut since David Carr with the Houston Texans in 2002. Williams finished his afternoon 14-for-29 passing for 93 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. The Titans sacked him twice and he ran for 15 yards on the ground.

It wasn’t a stat line to get excited about. But the bottom line is the Bears are 1-0.

Head coach Matt Eberflus talked all week about how Williams would need to lean on the talent around him. Eberflus was talking about the receivers, running backs and tight ends, but in a sense that applies to the defense too.

“I’ll be honest with you, I feel great,” Williams said. “I understand that, obviously the stats weren’t where I want them to be and things like that, because I want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. I didn’t do that today. We’re going to get better tomorrow.”

Five of the Bears’ first six possessions ended with punts. They went into the halftime locker room trailing by 14 points, but there was no panic. Eberflus was impressed with the poise his team showed, even after a rough first half.

“They looked each other in the eye and leaned in and leaned on each other ... and said, ‘We got this,’” Eberflus said. “That’s a different attitude and a different culture that we’ve developed over here the last couple of years.”

Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze called the mood in the locker room at halftime “uplifting.”

“Making sure that we’re all on the same page,” Odunze said. “That we need to go out there and put some points on the board.”

Odunze, the No. 9 overall draft pick, had an odd debut as well. His first NFL reception was not what he spent his life dreaming about. Williams threw a pass intended for DJ Moore that a Titans defender knocked high into the air. Odunze caught the ball, took a huge hit and fumbled. Thankfully for the Bears, lineman Teven Jenkins was there to scoop up the fumble.

It proved to be Odunze’s only catch of the day. It went for 11 yards. Odunze felt that Williams showed good leadership qualities even when the results weren’t matching up.

“He commanded this team,” Odunze said. “He was strong in moments of adversity, we just kept pushing, kept fighting. That’s all you can ask for out of a quarterback and a tremendous player like himself, making plays with his feet, in the air. So he played well for us.”

Nobody is going to call Williams a bust after one game, but it’s pretty clear that the Bears are going to have to weather some ups and downs with their rookie QB.

If that means the Bears have to lean on their defense, well, it’s a pretty good formula because they have a rock solid defense.

“It’s never about just one side or one person,” Eberflus said. “It’s about us being able to figure it out during the game and figure out our winning formula for that particular day. And that could change.

“Then once you get a solidified quarterback that’s a seasoned veteran, I think it becomes pretty clear how you operate and how you do things. We’ve seen all those guys in the past. Our guy is very talented. Again, this is his first game, and he’s going to continue to get better.”