ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Though the ever-confident quarterback never doubted himself, Caleb Williams still found his NFL preseason debut performance reassuring in helping lead the Chicago Bears to a 33-6 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
After all, it had been nearly nine months since the rookie No. 1 draft pick handled a snap in a competitive setting.
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“Last time I was out there on a field other than practice was November 18th,” Williams said, referring to Southern California’s regular season-ending 38-20 loss to UCLA, before he sat out playing in the Holiday Bowl. “You go that long without something, it’s tough. But no, it’s been great. The guys made it fun. They made it easy on me.”
His Bears teammates could say the same about Williams, who showed awareness and poise in the pocket, hit receivers on the run, and displayed his dual-threat ability by scrambling 13 yards for a first down on third-and-9.
“It was great. Everybody was open today,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Yeah, it gives you hell of a confidence going into the season.”
The 22-year-old Williams went 4 of 7 for 95 yards in overseeing two drives that ended with field goals. Though he wasn’t perfect — Williams was late in nearly throwing an interception on a play wiped out by a Bills defensive penalty away from the ball — the quarterback headed an offense that gained a combined 152 yards and seven first downs on 20 plays over two possessions.
The game was decided a minute into the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville intercepted Shane Buechele’s pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown to put Chicago up 19-6. Velus Jones scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, and Ian Wheeler scored on runs from 7 and 8 yards in the final six minutes.
For Buffalo, Josh Allen went 2 for 3 for 22 yards, and also had a 7-yard run while playing the first quarter of the Bills' preseason opener. Though the Bills had the ball, Allen gave way to backup Mitch Trubisky to open the second quarter on a drive that ended with Tyler Bass making a 24-yard field goal to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-3.
Bills coach Sean McDermott wasn’t pleased with an outing in which the four-time defending AFC East champions allowed 340 yards and gained just 200, while crossing midfield twice on 11 possessions.
“Our standard was not out there today. That’s not how we play,” McDermott said. “If you had a blood pressure cuff on me during that game, it probably would have exploded.”
The coach had calmed down enough following the game to credit Bass for also hitting a 49-yard field goal. McDermott also said Buffalo came out of the game injury free.
For the Bears, Williams was the focus after he and the starters were held out of their preseason-opening and storm-shortened 21-17 win over Housto n in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1.
Already in line to become the Bears’ second rookie quarterback since the NFL merger in 1970 to start a season, Williams showed no signs of having issues with his cadence or getting in and out of the huddle efficiently as he experienced at times during training camp.
Williams showed zip and accuracy on his first attempt by completing a 12-yard pass to a tightly covered Moore to convert third and 12. His longest completion was a 42-yarder off a screen pass over the middle to running back D’Andre Swift. Williams also completed a 26-yard pass to Cole Kmet in which the quarterback faked a handoff left, rolled to his right and, on the run, hit the tight end along the sideline.
Chicago’s opening drive stalled at Buffalo’s 12 following three straight runs, and the Bears settled for Cairo Santos’ 30-yard field goal. The second drive ended at Buffalo’s 15, after Williams was under pressure and overthrew fellow rookie Rome Odunze in the right corner of the end zone.
“There’s certainly positivity there, and we’re not going to squash that,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of Williams’ debut, while stressing the quarterback and the team need to build on this.
Williams was in agreement.
“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 said.
Up Next
Bears: Host the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Bills: At the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Aug. 17.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl