Bears QB Caleb Williams Sends Message on Rough Debut vs. Titans

Getty Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears warms up before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field on September 08, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams did not have the NFL debut that many — including himself — hoped he would have against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, but the No. 1 overall pick isn’t hanging his head in defeat.

Williams completed just 14 of his 29 passes (48.3%) for 93 yards in the Bears’ 24-17 victory over the Titans, missing a number of throws and struggling to get on the same page as several of his pass-catchers as Chicago’s offense mostly fell flat in their opener.

During September 8’s postgame, though, Williams said he wasn’t concerned about the stats and felt “great” about the Bears getting their first win despite his shortcomings.

“To be honest with you, I feel great,” Williams said Sunday. “I understand that the stats weren’t where I wanted them to be and things like that. Because I want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability and didn’t do that today. We’re going to get better tomorrow. We’ve got this little period, these next 15 hours or so, and then you reset and you get ready for Houston next week. … We’re going to be better next week.”

Williams’ debut wasn’t all bad, though. He threw a nice ball to Keenan Allen in the red zone that should have gone down as his first regular-season touchdown pass, but the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver uncharacteristically dropped it and forced the Bears to settle for a field goal. He also limited turnovers unlike his Titans counterpart Will Levis, who threw a pick-six and a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter of the loss.

Williams and the Bears (1-0) will have the week to figure things out before taking on the Houston Texans (1-0) in prime time for Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Caleb Williams Missed Throws, But Was ‘Seeing it Well’

Williams carried an upbeat tone when speaking with reporters in Sunday’s postgame, but his positivity about the Bears’ first win didn’t stop him from self-critiquing.

Williams attributed most of the team’s offensive shortcomings to the “small things.” He admitted he “missed a few passes” he doesn’t normally miss, such as when he overthrew running back D’Andre Swift in the flat in the third quarter to bring up 3rd-and-long.

“I felt like I was in the right place in the right time,” Williams said. “I would say I was seeing it well. Just missed and misfired with placing the ball where I wanted to.”

Asked about the biggest takeaways from his first game, Williams said he would need to watch the film to properly diagnose what went wrong “on a deeper level,” but he did give credit to his “unbelievable” teammates for staying in the fight with him. He also added the next step is “getting back in the lab” to sort out the miscues on offense.

but he also wanted to show his “unbelievable” teammates he would keep fighting with them.  He added the next step is “getting back in the lab” with his teammates to

“Getting back in the lab, getting back with the guys, mainly the wide receivers, tight ends, all these other guys, making sure we’re on the same page at the end of the week,” Williams said. “Making sure that we go out there and when we have these chances when they want to go Cover 0, that we make them pay. And we didn’t do that today, but we’re going to get better in the future and the near future.”

Caleb Williams Not Only Rookie QB to Struggle Week 1

Bo Nix — the Denver Broncos’ No. 12 overall pick — went 26-of-42 passing for 136 yards with zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions. To his credit, Nix ran five times for 35 yards and scored his first career touchdown on a 4-yard scramble in the fourth quarter, but his turnovers left a stronger impression as the Broncos lost 26-20.

Jayden Daniels had a better day for the Washington Commanders, but the No. 2 overall pick did most of his damage on the ground with 16 carries for 88 yards and two scores. As a passer, he did not attempt many deep passes with ESPN noting he averaged 2.0 air yards per completion in his debut. He still completed 70.8% of his passes (17 of 24) but he also finished with a middle-of-the-road 41.9 QBR — encouraging but not sparkling.

Otherwise, the other 2024 rookie quarterbacks did not play. Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy (the No. 10 pick) is on season-ending injury reserve with a torn meniscus, while Drake Maye (the No. 3 pick) rode the bench on Sunday while Jacoby Brissett and the New England Patriots claimed their first win of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

So while Williams was a letdown in his NFL debut, none of his rookie peers knocked it out of the park, either. And at least Williams and the Bears walked away with a win. He became the first rookie quarterback selected No. 1 overall to win his Week 1 debut since David Carr did so for the Texans in 2022. The others between them have gone 0-14-1.