Courtney Cronin, ESPN writer
CHICAGO — A few months ago at the NFL combine, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles described two types of quarterbacks: the artist who “doesn’t draw inside the lines” and the surgeon who slices through defenses with pinpoint precision.
In his second preseason game, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams showed why he was the first.
After a slow start, where the Bears’ offense went on three consecutive possessions in the first quarter of Chicago’s 27-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Williams called on his inner artist to throw his first touchdown of the preseason.
Leading 3-0 before the two-minute warning in the first half, Williams dropped back to pass while keeping his eyes down. Coming out of the pocket away from pressure, the 22-year-old quarterback threw a deep ball on the move to rookie receiver Rome Odunze, who hauled in a 45-yard reception while flanked by Bengals cornerback Josh Newton.
It was Williams’ longest pass completion streak of the preseason, when he had 43 snaps in two games against Buffalo and Cincinnati. And it wasn’t the only time he showed precision in his movements. One play later, after rolling to his right and dancing around Bengals defensive end Justin Blazek, Williams scrambled to keep the play alive and lasered a pass into the back corner of the end zone where Odunze was waiting.
The only problem? The rookie receiver’s feet were just outside the boundary.
“It was a mistake on my part,” Odunze said. “I thought I was Tony tapping his foot out there. I thought I had at least one foot.”
The Williams-Odunze connection highlighted why the Bears used their first two picks, Nos. 1 and 9, on quarterback and receiver, respectively. After the two failed to connect on a red-zone play last week in Buffalo, the symmetry the two displayed Saturday made Williams eager to see their potential.
“We’re going to be explosive,” Williams said. “We’re two rookies, but we’re trying to catch up to the veterans as quickly as possible to make sure we’re on par with them so we can be efficient, functional, go out there and be explosive, be on the same page and win games. That’s ultimately what we’re here to do. Having a guy like that drafted with me, we’re just going to continue to grow and build that connection.”
After totaling 16 yards of offense on their first three series, the Bears began to find momentum on their fourth drive when Odunze hauled in a 16-yard TD pass and Tyler Scott was hit with a 43-yard defensive pass interference penalty that brought the Bears back to the 15-yard line.
Chicago’s offense stalled on its first trip to the red zone, which culminated in Cairo Santos kicking a 37-yard field goal to give the Bears their first points of the day.
On Williams’ fifth and final drive Saturday, two plays after Odunze’s 45-yard reception put Chicago back in the red zone, Williams rushed for a third-and-goal from the 7-yard line and ran for a touchdown.
Williams said after the game that his natural tendency, even when he’s struggling, is to throw the ball. Learning to take what the defense gave him in that situation put him in position to rush for a score.
“I’ve tried to get a little better at balancing what they give me and what the defense gives me, whether it’s a run to gain ground or a quick pass in front of me,” Williams said. “It’s always a constant battle to do those things. We just continue to get better in those situations.”
Bears coach Matt Eberflus called Williams’ second preseason outing a “pro day at quarterback” in which the No. 1 overall pick completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Eberflus said the coaching staff didn’t adjust the number of plays Williams received Saturday based on the offense’s rough start, and suggested the plan all along was for the quarterback to play the entire first half.
“It’s not always going to be rosy,” Eberflus said. “You’re not going to complete all your passes and make those big plays to start with.
“I thought Williams’ fluidity of play was really good. I thought his attitude, when he had a little bit of adversity on the sidelines, was excellent. He worked with the players, his physical demeanor never changed. He was always there to work on the next game.”
