Breaking: Rookie Caleb Williams sharp again as Bears defeat……
CHICAGO — Months ago at the NFL combine, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles described two types of quarterbacks: The artist who “doesn’t draw within the lines” and the surgeon who slices through defenses with razor sharp accuracy.
In his second preseason game Saturday, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams showed why he’s the former.
After a slow start, where the Bears offense went three-and-out on three straight possessions in the first quarter of Chicago’s 27-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Williams tapped into his inner artist to put together his first touchdown drive of the preseason.
Ahead 3-0 before the two-minute warning in the first half, Williams dropped back to pass while keeping his eyes downfield. Upon spinning out of the pocket away from pressure, the 22-year-old quarterback flung a deep ball on the move to rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze, who came down with a 45-yard reception while flanked by Bengals cornerback Josh Newton.
It was Williams’ longest completion of the preseason, where he has totaled 43 snaps in two games against Buffalo and Cincinnati. And it wasn’t the only time he put his precision on the move on display. One play later after rolling to his right and dancing around Bengals defensive end Justin Blazek, Williams scrambled to keep the play alive and lasered a pass into the back corner of the end zone where Odunze was waiting.
The only problem? The rookie receiver’s feet were just outside the boundary.
“Man, that was just a mistake by me,” Odunze said. “I thought I was Tony toe-tap back there. I thought I had at least a foot.”
The Williams-Odunze connection highlighted why the Bears used their top two picks at Nos. 1 and 9 on the quarterback and wide receiver, respectively. After the two failed to connect on a red zone play last week at Buffalo, the symmetry the two showed off Saturday has Williams eager for their potential.
