Getty Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears celebrates after the game against the Tennessee Titans.
Rookie quarterbacks are bound to have good games and bad games, and Caleb Williams began his NFL career with the latter.
In his debut for the Chicago Bears, the rookie QB went 14-for-29 (that’s a 48.3 completion percentage) for 93 yards, with his longest completion going for just 13 yards. He was bailed out by an impressive effort from Chicago’s defense and special teams, which included a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and an interception by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson that was also returned for a score.
Despite Williams’ struggles against the Tennessee Titans‘ defense, the Bears managed to walk away with a 24-17 victory. In a post-game interview with ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Stevenson wanted to let his rookie signal-caller know that the defense is going to be there to lift him up when he needs it.
“We always want to be the spark of the team,” Stevenson told Cronin. “We know Caleb coming in was going to have his ups and downs. This might not have been the game he wanted, but we’re just his kickstand. We got him and he got us.”
QB Williams Talks ‘Frustrating’ Debut With Chicago Bears
1 on 1 with Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson: “We always want to be the spark of the team. We know Caleb coming in was going to have his ups and downs. This might not have been the game he wanted but we’re just his kickstand. We got him and he got us.”
The Bears’ offense struggled the entire game against the Titans, going 2-for-13 on 3rd down, while averaging just 2.8 yards per play.
“Didn’t perform the way I wanted to,” Williams said after the win over Tennessee. “I missed a few passes I normally don’t miss,” he added, citing overthrows to wideout DJ Moore and running back D’Andre Swift as examples.
“It was a frustrating game,” Williams added. “But the most important thing is that it shows a bunch of the personality of this team, I would say. The fight, the resiliency that we had.”
The Bears came back from a 17-3 deficit at halftime, with the defense shutting Tennessee down completely in the second half, forcing Titans QB Will Levis into two costly turnovers, including Stevenson’s game-changing pick-6.
Despite his overthrows and the 19-yard loss he took on a sack, it was what Williams didn’t do that may have mattered most: He didn’t turn the ball over once. The Bears rookie QB also had a likely touchdown dropped by sure-handed veteran receiver Keenan Allen, which would have helped take the sting out of his struggles, at least a little bit.
How does Keenan Allen drop this pass from Caleb Williams?
Tyrique Stevenson, Bears Defense Will Have to Perform Well Until Caleb Williams Gets Adjusted
BEARS PICK-6 FOR THE LEAD!
📺: #TENvsCHI on FOX
📱: t.co/waVpO909ge
“He pitched it up, he made a mistake and we just capitalized off it,” Stevenson said about his pick-6 off Levis, via Fox 32 Chicago. “I’m glad I gave this team the energy we need to finish the game.”
“It gave us the juice,” Bears receiver Rome Odunze said about Stevenson’s defensive score. “It gave the stadium the juice and gave the team the juice, and that’s thing that a great football team does and pick one another up and make plays on all facets of the game.”
Stevenson and company may have to step up again in the future if Williams has more bad games — which he very likely will. He feels confident the team can do just that — and he also says Williams will soon return the favor.
“It’s one hell of a team, a team full of dogs,” Stevenson added. “At some point it’s going to be them (the offense) helping us out. It is what it is. We still got the win.”
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Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson Has Telling Remarks on Caleb Williams After Rough Debut