DETROIT — Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is all over the place, and they can’t move forward until he starts taking steady, defined steps in the right direction.
In a familiar scene Sunday against the Lions, Williams made maddening mistakes and came up with too few splashy plays to make up for them as the Bears got rocked 52-21 in coach Ben Johnson’s return to Ford Field. His fourth-down failures, an inexplicable interception and various misfires left them with no chance.
It was bleak enough for Johnson to pull Williams midway through the fourth quarter and send in backup quarterback Tyson Bagent for the remainder because Johnson thought the game was beyond saving. Williams wandered the sideline holding his helmet in his hand with a lot to ponder.
“It sucks that your guys are out on the field and you’re not,” he said, adding that he considered all the ways he could’ve helped before it came to that.
Even being in transition with a new coach who is trying to rewire virtually everything about him, this can’t possibly be what Johnson expected.
Williams completed 19 of 30 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for a 91.9 passer rating in a performance only marginally better than what was deemed unacceptable from Justin Fields before him. He was spared a second interception on a wild heave in the fourth quarter when Lions safety Brian Branch got flagged for roughing the passer.
The offense scored on just 3 of 10 possessions with Williams in the game, and he had just 136 yards passing when the Lions buried them with a 38-14 lead in the third quarter.
Williams objected to the phrasing that there has been some “tough film to watch” over his first two games, the other being a dud of an opener against the Vikings in which his throws were unsettlingly inaccurate, but so far he has been well below Johnson’s benchmark of completing 70% of his passes and his inconsistency has held the offense back.
“It’s always pointing the finger at yourself before you go pointing at anybody else,” Williams said. “I’m not necessarily going to say ‘tough film’ or anything like that. You’re going to make mistakes.
“You’ve got to go out there and not be fearful of making a mistake, and that’s how I play. If something happens, alright, cool, move on to the next play and let’s go back out there.”
When asked what corrections are most urgent in his own performance over the first games, in which he had an 89.1 passer rating and 61.5 completion percentage while the offense scored on 6 of 21 possessions, he downplayed that there were major concerns.
“First game, missed a couple passes,” Williams said. “This game, hit some key passes and didn’t feel like anything was off. My footwork was solid and I was hitting my guys.”
If he doesn’t realize that some things most assuredly have been “off,” Johnson needs to clarify it for him. Unreliable quarterback play limits what he can do as the offensive play caller.
He jumped from his job as Lions offensive coordinator in large part because he believed in Williams and thought the Bears were poised to compete now and long term. The first two games of the season surely have sparked some questions about whether he grasped how much work would be required.
Just like in the Vikings game, Williams drifted shortly after an impressive, clockwork touchdown drive Sunday.
He had the Bears moving well late in the first quarter, too, until running back D’Andre Swift fumbled the ball away at the Lions’ 32-yard line, and everything unraveled from there. Williams went 10-for-19 passing the rest of the game.
Johnson sent Williams on back-to-back quarterback sneaks on third and fourth down from his own 37-yard line early in the second quarter, and he got neither. He and Williams had an extended conversation after the fourth-down play.
Williams, who thought he got the first down on both of those carries, said Johnson pointed out that he made more headway on the first one going to the right side and might’ve been better off going there again instead of trying the left side on fourth down.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in them that we can get [one yard] in two plays,” Johnson said.
Especially after investing over $140 million in the offensive line.
Johnson was right to have that confidence when he was with the Lions, but revamped line or not, the Bears haven’t proven that.
Williams’ ugliest play was a staggering interception in the second quarter. On second-and-32 from his own 37-yard line, the pressure flushed him out to the right. With no one open, he sailed it to safety Kerby Joseph. Williams said he anticipated wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus going up the sideline, but Zaccheaus stopped.
“He’s got to throw it away,” Johnson said.
The Lions made him pay for that by burning the Bears for a 67-yard touchdown drive to go ahead 21-7. They led by at least two touchdowns from then on.
Errors like that interception and inaccurate passes don’t have anything to do with acclimating to a new offense. They’re considered basics for anyone but rookies.
Williams isn’t getting that margin anymore, not from Johnson and not from anyone else. He’s going to be evaluated like every other quarterback now, and his grades have been discouraging.
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