After a rough start for Bears' first-team offense, Caleb Williams showcases his flair for the spectacular on a touchdown drive
CHICAGO (670 The Score) — It probably wasn't in the Bears' plans to have rookie quarterback Caleb Williams work five series and deep into the second quarter against the Bengals on Saturday, but early offensive struggles led to that.
Williams put those initial struggles behind him with a flair for the spectacular on his final drive, completing a 45-yard pass to rookie receiver Rome Odunze while rolling left and then later rushing for a seven-yard touchdown. The touchdown came after Williams extended the play and scrambled to his left.
Williams was 6-of-13 for 75 yards along with that seven-yard touchdown run. The Bears' starting offense went three-and-out on its first three series against the Bengals' reserve defense before responding well after that. Chicago led 10-3 at halftime en route to a 27-3 win to improve to 3-0 in preseason action.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus called Williams' performance "professional" while pointing to both the struggles and success. For his part, Williams agreed with that assessment.
"I gave up a sack, it wasn't the O-line's fault," Williams said. "I gave up a sack where I was in the pocket too long. I was trying to do too much. And then the other times, something always went wrong. There may have been a flag or a false start we had when I kind of rushed the cadence, and the (defensive) line tried to anticipate that. And then a couple of the other things, small things that always add up to be big things. Me and DJ (Moore) not on the same page, Keenan (Allen) not being on the same page, it always adds up. And it's super minute, super small things. But in the game of football, you only have split seconds, and those little things add up.
"We're going to keep working to be perfect. We understand that we won't be able to reach that. But in an up-and-down game, you can only win the game, like (Eberflus) says, in the fourth quarter."
The Bears won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, allowing Williams and the offense to take the field first. He threw three incompletions, including one that was flagged for intentional grounding on third-and-10.
The Bears' starting offense officially registered 21 total plays in the first half and produced 123 yards. Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow and Cincinnati's starters sat out.
The Bears cap their preseason slate Thursday in Kansas City against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Eberflus indicated the Bears will decide later this week whether Williams and the starters play or sit out.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
