Monday night didn’t go how anybody wanted. After a strong start, quarterback Caleb Williams went cold for most of the second half. Though he rallied the team within three in the final minutes, the Chicago Bears ran out of time to complete the comeback. It was a frustrating night. Williams missed some premium opportunities for big plays, often as a result of inaccurate passes. Onlookers saw a quarterback unsettled in the pocket and not trusting his eyes. While he avoided any turnovers, there were some mistakes that cost the team points.
However, not all of it was bad. Something else popped up from the game. He was only sacked twice, which seemed shocking given the number of times it looked like Minnesota got penetration on the line of scrimmage. A closer look saw Williams doing a good job of avoiding sacks, keeping plays alive with his feet, taking checkdowns, or throwing the ball away. Too often, he wasn’t doing those things last season, leading to the absurd 68 sacks he took. If this is a trend, the Bears are already in better shape.
Caleb Williams won’t face many opponents like that again.
The Vikings featured a combination of big, strong defensive linemen and a hyper-aggressive attack. It is difficult to block, especially when you can’t run the ball. Several opponents the Bears will face moving forward don’t have that much firepower or near-suicidal aggression. Caleb Williams will be able to lean on the run game a little more and set up the play-action fake Johnson is famous for. That is when we should start seeing the quarterback play with more poise and composure. Managing to avoid sacks like this suggests he’s been getting some good coaching and that he’s been listening. He isn’t just running around for the sake of it anymore. He has solutions, and he’s using them. It isn’t perfect, but the progress was pretty clear.
