Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff WriterAug 10, 2024, 08:04 PM ET
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- Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore couldn't help but heap superlatives onto rookie quarterback Caleb Williams' preseason debut.
Williams' overall performance? "Outstanding," Moore said.
The quarterback's ability to make throws on the run, which resulted in his best throw of the day, a 26-yard strike to tight end Cole Kmet? "Second to none," the receiver claimed.
While Williams was more reserved in analyzing how he played during two series of Chicago's 33-6 win over the Buffalo Bills, the No. 1 pick walked away from his NFL debut confident about the direction he and the Bears' offense are headed.
"There's an understanding that it is preseason, that everybody's not going to show their looks and what they would do versus us and vice versa," Williams said. "But it definitely feels good to get out there. The last time I was out there on the field other than practice was Nov. 18. You go that long without something, it's tough.
"But it's been great. The guys have made it fun, they made it easy on me -- talking about our other players -- they've been great from the beginning to now. My progress, I would tie my progress and support, I would count it to them. They've been great. To get out there and have the confidence that we had out there, it's only going to get better and we can't wait."
Williams completed 4 of 7 passes for 95 yards (101.8 passer rating) and ripped off a 13-yard scramble in 20 snaps (including penalties) on Saturday. His passing stats would have looked even stronger had it not been for two dropped passes.
"He went out there on the rollout that I dropped and it was a perfect ball," Moore said. "Got to have those."
Williams' first completion came while facing third-and-long after a holding penalty on the Bears' first series put the offense behind the chains. He demonstrated pocket awareness and went through all of his progressions before finding Moore for a 12-yard gain.
That specific play demonstrated Williams' ability to battle back, according to Bears coach Matt Eberflus.
"It's the fruits of his labor," Eberflus said. "He's been working his tail off in practices and even before that, all through the summer. It's good to be able to say that hey, all this drill work, all the things I've been doing, it's paying off and I can see the improvements. We're going to look at this tape and look back and say, what can I learn from this? There's a lot of things you can learn from this process in getting these reps, as he does in practice when he's going against the 1 defense."
On back-to-back drives, Williams led the Bears into the red zone. A run play that was stopped on third-and-1 and an incomplete pass to rookie receiver Rome Odunze put Chicago in position to kick two field goals to take a 6-0 lead before Williams' day was over.
"There's certainly positivity there," Eberflus said of Williams' debut. "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 got to play good around him. It's important that we keep improving before that first game."
Williams' confidence stood out to teammates on an afternoon where high winds swirled inside Highmark Stadium and a nearly full crowd created a loud environment for the rookie's debut. The quarterback was loud and precise in delivering calls in the huddle and exuded a confidence felt by teammates.
Chicago plans to get Williams between 45 and 55 snaps in its remaining preseason games against Cincinnati and Kansas City. The Bears host the Bengals on Thursday in a joint practice where the quarterback aims to build on the momentum he gained in his debut.
"You have to understand where we are and understand what we have and where we are headed," Williams said. "It's the most important thing. But you also have to be where your feet are. When you're out there on the field, when you're preparing for this game, you're enjoying it, you're having fun, you're having a blast. We take a step back when we get in tomorrow.
"We take a step back, we go through the tape and then on to the next. On to the next preseason [game] and then you take it from there and you keep growing, keep growing, keep growing and you just keep counting those days, counting those hours and get after it."
