Schrock’s Report Card: Grading Caleb Williams, Bears in dominant preseason win vs. Bills

Schrock’s Report Card: Grading Caleb Williams, Bears in dominant preseason win vs. Bills originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

ORCHARD PARK, New York – Last week, Caleb Williams said he was on track in his NFL development.

“I’m right where I need to be and where they want me to be,” Williams said.

That certainly looked to be the case Saturday when the rookie quarterback made his NFL preseason debut in the Bears’ 33-6 win over the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

Williams was as advertised during two series of work. Even his lone mistake – an ill-advised throw that could have been taken the other way for a pick-six – was wiped away due to an illegal contact flag.

Williams’ debut only added to the excitement and energy surrounding this new era of Bears football.

“There’s certainly positivity there,” head coach Matt Eberflus said after the win. “We’re not going to squash that. I do feel like we have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to accomplish as a football team, not just Caleb. We all gotta play good around him. It’s important that we keep improving before that first game.”

The Bears have work to do, but the latest step in their detailed plan to develop Williams into an NFL superstar was a rousing success.

Here’s a report card celebrating the first unofficial day of a new era:

Passing offense

Williams showed off all the facets of his game that made him the unquestioned No. 1 pick.

Rare arm talent and velocity? Check. Ability to use mobility to create plays both in and out of structure? Yup got that. Special off-platform throws, especially while on the run? No question.

It was just 18 snaps (20 if you count penalties), but Williams was as advertised Saturday in Western New York.

“That boy is special. He is special,” rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze said.

Williams went 4-for-7 for 95 yards and a passer rating of 101.8. He also added 13 yards on the ground during his lone scramble.

The Bears’ pass game was firing on almost all cylinders against the Bills. Williams’ three incompletions were the product of two drops and one miscommunication. He opened the day with a 12-yard strike to DJ Moore to move the chains on third-and-12 and followed that with an improvisational flip to running back D’Andre Swift for a 42-yard gain on a screen.

The throw of the day was a 26-yard strike to Kmet on a bootleg to the right. Williams exited fake with speed, pump-faked an oncoming edge rusher, and threw a dart to Kmet along the sideline.

“That’s the natural God-given ability that he has,” Swift said.

The Bears’ offensive line remains a work in progress. Right guard Nate Davis and backup Ryan Bates did not play Saturday, which meant that Matt Pryor got the nod with the starting five. Right tackle Darnell Wright opened the game with a holding penalty that put them behind the sticks, and the pass protection as a whole was average.

There’s work to be done to get where the Bears want to go, but Saturday was a big positive step in the right direction.

WILLIAMS GRADE: A
TEAM GRADE: A-

Rushing offense

The Bears’ first-team offense struggled to run the ball successfully Saturday, especially in the red zone.

Swift only carried the ball once for 3 yards, while Khalil Herbert rushed nine times for 31 yards (3.4 average).

When the Bears got into the red zone, they tried to lean on the ground game, but the offensive line was unable to create holes for Herbert to find pay dirt.

The second and third-team offense did well on the ground.

Velus Jones Jr. carried the ball six times for 34 yards and a touchdown. Undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler picked up 43 yards on five carries and scored two touchdowns.

The second-half success bumps this grade up, but it wasn’t a performance to write home about for the starters.

GRADE: C

Passing defense

The Bears’ first-team defense was without four starters Saturday but didn’t miss a beat in their one quarter of action against Bills quarterback Josh Allen and the starters.

Allen went just 2-for-3 for 22 yards. He exited midway through the second series, giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky moved the ball down the field on the Bears’ defense, but a pass breakup by Jaylon Johnson and a tipped pass from Gervon Dexter forced Buffalo to kick a field goal.

Without cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson and safety Jaquan Brisker, the Bears’ defense acquitted itself well in its preseason debut. They forced a three-and-out on the first possession and bowed up in the red zone to finish the day.

With Montez Sweat out, the first-team pass rush didn’t flash. However, rookie Austin Booker cleaned up in the second half, finishing with five tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three quarterback hits. Daniel Hardy also had 2.5 sacks.

It was a good showing for the Bears’ pass-rush depth.

GRADE: A

Run defense

While there might still be some questions about the Bears’ pass rush, the run defense was in midseason form.
DeMarcus Walker and Andrew Billings stuffed running back James Cook on the first play from scrimmage for a short gain. Two plays later, Dominique Robinson and Walker blew up a third-and-1 run by Cook to force a punt.

The Bears held the Bills to 77 rushing yards on 26 carries (3.0 average). Buffalo’s longest run was a 14-yard scramble by third-string quarterback Shane Buechele.

Pretty, pretty good.

GRADE: A

Special teams

Rookie punter Tory Taylor acquitted himself well in the windy Buffalo conditions. Taylor’s first punt was a 48-yard punt that was downed at the 6. His second punt also went 48 yards and was downed at the 11.

Cairo Santos drilled both his field goals but missed one extra point.

Jones Jr. muffed a kick return but was able to recover the ball and pick up 13 yards.

So-so day for Richard Hightower’s unit.

GRADE: C

COACHING

The only coaching note I have is that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s red-zone play-calling on the first drive left much to be desired.

After Swift’s 42-yard catch-and-run on the screen, the Bears handed the ball to Herbert three times for 9 yards and settled for a field goal.

It got better on the second trip to the red zone, but a drop by Moore and a miscommunication between Williams and Odunze ended the drive.

The preseason is vanilla, so I expect it to be better.

However, Waldron did show he plans to play to Williams’ strength by calling several bootlegs that got Williams out on the edge, cut the field in half and made it easy for the talented rookie.

GRADE: B