LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Quarterback Caleb Williams began the Chicago Bears’ play on third-and-9 from his 4-yard line in the fourth quarter by directing traffic against the Houston Texans defense.
He walked up to the line and briefly spoke to center Coleman Shelton and guard Nate Davis. Williams then gestured to his left at Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Whatever Williams said to them was then quickly relayed down the line of scrimmage. You can see every lineman acknowledge his part in what was coming next. Left guard Teven Jenkins also appeared to point at safety Jalen Pitre, who was aligned just outside of left tackle Braxton Jones.
In the backfield, running back Travis Homer checked in with Williams and got the call, too.
The Texans were going to blitz again.
Williams and the offense were ready for it.
Williams’ right leg went up, Davis tapped Shelton for the snap and the play began with the Bears backed up near their end zone in a loud NRG Stadium.
Houston sent six rushers at Williams, including Al-Shaair and Pitre. Everyone was accounted for by the Bears’ protection. Seeing the man coverage behind the blitz, Williams stepped up and fled the pocket to his right. He gained 24 yards before he slid just before the 30-yard line. He was untouched.
The whole sequence was a win for a young quarterback making his second start on the road against a playoff-caliber team. If there was one coaching point, it’s that he had a quick out open to receiver DJ Moore to his left for a first down, but that was where the Texans’ blitz came from, too.
Williams identified the pressure coming, worked with Shelton to set the protection and turned a difficult situation for any quarterback into positive yardage and then eventually into points. The possession that began with the Bears on their 3-yard line turned into 12 plays, 61 yards gained and three points from kicker Cairo Santos.
With the Texans blitzing as much as they did, Sunday night became a mental test for Williams as much as a physical one. Seeing Williams direct traffic at the line became a common scene as the Texans took the lead and the blitzes added up.
Blitzing rookie QBs is nothing new. But Houston coach DeMeco Ryans was relentless. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Ryans blitzed Williams on 41.7 percent of his dropbacks, establishing a new high blitz rate for his Houston tenure.
Sometimes stunts weren’t picked up by the Bears’ interior linemen and sometimes chips weren’t made by the backs. And sometimes Williams failed to get the ball to his hot reads. As a result, Williams was sacked nine times. Some of them resulted from one-on-one losses up front.
Caleb Williams showing accuracy in a crowded pocket.
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Still, some growing pains for rookie quarterbacks will be extra painful. It’s football. It’s going to happen. Williams was asked what he learned about blitzing teams in his second start and what he can do to better combat them moving forward.
“One: Communication. Two is making adjustments faster throughout the game,” Williams said. “Having better communication between myself, coaches and offensive line … making sure that we’re on the same page and making the adjustments we need to in game.
“Obviously, you have adjustments … that you practice throughout the week, but the other team’s job is to try to confuse you and throw different things at you, different looks. And so being able to adjust quickly in game I think is the most important thing. It starts with communication.”
Some of the Bears’ false starts can be blamed on Williams, too.
“I’m always involved in communication,” Williams said. “It starts with me and the center first. And then, throughout the game a few times, the clock got kind of low … and I was on a cadence that I didn’t want or shouldn’t have used with the clock being that low.
“You get the call in the huddle and you’re in the huddle for however long and then you up there and you’re like you’ve already called your cadence. So trying to change the cadence at the line instead of using some of our tools that we have, I think that comes with time. And I think that comes obviously with more communication from myself and using the tools that I have to be able to get the ball off even if I’m on a cadence that may be a little bit longer.”
Seeing Williams trying to identify blitzes in real time and on film against the Texans and later hearing him explain the cadence issues he had are examples of how intricate, detailed and difficult the position can be for rookies. It will never click for some.
Are the Bears and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron asking too much from Williams too early in his career?
Maybe. It’s an easy argument to make because the Bears offense has found the end zone only once in two games.
But the Bears also prepared Williams for what he’s facing. Not long ago, Williams explained that blitz recognition was the most difficult part of facing the Bears defense in training camp. Coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington purposely sent pressure after Williams. In time, he learned, adjusted and eventually had some success.
The same now has to happen in real games when facing the potential for real, violent contact. But scaling things back for Williams doesn’t make sense when there are signs of growth with some of the more difficult aspects of playing quarterback.
“It’s truly awesome,” Williams said. “You sign up for this position. You sign up for games like that. That was a playoff team last year, and to be down six with a chance to go win with the ball in your hands, that’s all you can ask for. Obviously, the defense played great, special teams did well. And offense, we got a touchdown in there. We’re going to need more, obviously. But it felt great to be in the game, be in that type of game, that type of environment. And I’m excited for more. I know the team is excited for more, and getting back here, getting back with the guys, I couldn’t be more excited.”
(Photo: Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)
