Caleb Williams just played his most efficient game in Bears win over Rams – here’s how he did it

CHICAGO – Caleb Williams’ biggest moments on Sunday were subtle, but that’s what he needed to do to win a football game. The Chicago Bears quarterback had his most efficient game as a pro so far.

Williams guided the Bears to a win over the Los Angeles Rams, 24-18, at Soldier Field, helping the team move to 2-2 on the season.

He threw for 157 yards and a touchdown on 17-for-23 passing. He also ran for 12 yards on five carries and did not have any turnovers.

Like any rookie, Williams had good moments and bad. Here were the most consequential plays from the No. 1 overall draft pick on Sunday.

1. A missed connection

The first half was a bit of a slog. The Bears punted on their first three possessions. They capitalized on a strip sack from Montez Sweat and scored their first touchdown on what was just a 16-yard drive.

Later, Williams had two chances to find a receiver in the end zone in the final seconds of the second quarter, but he couldn’t do it. On first down from the Rams’ 17-yard line, Williams couldn’t connect with fellow rookie first-round pick Rome Odunze. The two scored their first touchdown together a week ago, but couldn’t make it work Sunday.

Later, on third down, Williams and DJ Moore appeared to have open space and a one-on-one matchup. Williams unleashed a pass for the back of the end zone and Moore looked as if he might have pulled up short. After the game, Moore took the blame.

“He thought I was doing one thing and I messed it up,” Moore said.

Moore is getting the majority of the double teams from opposing defenses, so he and Williams know they need to connect on those rare one-on-one situations.

“We just got to play that one-on-one game with people,” Moore said. “But the coverage is always pushing me, so when we get the opportunities one-on-one, we’ve got to connect on it.”

Maybe that’s what made the next play on this list so gratifying.

2. Williams connects with Moore for 3rd-quarter touchdown

On the Bears’ first possession after halftime, Williams led the offense 74 yards on 12 plays to score on a touchdown pass to Moore.

The touchdown was a great play by both parties – a great throw from Williams and a terrific catch in traffic by Moore. Williams faced a pocket that was imminently collapsing from both sides, but he stood in there and zipped a perfect pass around Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom.

A bigger linebacker on a speedster like Moore is a matchup the Bears will take every time. Moore cut right, then angled to his left and caught the football with Rozeboom in his face. He managed to keep both feet in bounds, too.

When they leave a linebacker on DJ, that’s the matchup that you want and that you wish for throughout games.”

—  Caleb Williams, Bears quarterback

“I knew that they were going to either double DJ with the safety running over or they were going to leave a linebacker on DJ,” Williams said. “When they leave a linebacker on DJ, that’s the matchup that you want and that you wish for throughout games.”

It went down as Moore’s first touchdown of the 2024 season.

“We’ve got a great relationship, but we were hunting for that [first] touchdown a while now,” Moore said.

3. A simple dump off

The longest pass play of the day didn’t look like much at first. On a second-and-2 play near midfield, Williams dropped back to pass and his receivers took off deep. With the pocket collapsing around him, Williams dumped the ball off to running back D’Andre Swift, who scampered for 27 yards.

It was somewhat miraculous that Williams could even see Swift with all the traffic ahead of him.

“We always talk about how big check downs are, especially on third downs,” Williams said. “When it’s third down and long, third down and long or medium, being able to steal a third down, as we call it, when you’re running, scrambling, and stealing it that way. I think we did well with that as a group.”

This wasn’t a third down play, but it was a great example. Head coach Matt Eberflus commended Williams for taking what was in front of him, not just on that play, but throughout the game.

“He was better because I thought he looked down the field for the shots, and when they weren’t there he took the check downs,” Eberflus said. “We got a lot of yards on those.”

Williams wasn’t slinging the ball all over the field, but he was taking what the defense gave him and taking shots – like the touchdown to Moore – when the opportunity was right. NFL Next Gen Stats noted that he went 15 of 15 on passes that went fewer than 15 yards through the air. His only misses were beyond that.