Bears quarterback Caleb Williams hadn't played in a game since USC's final regular-season contest Nov. 18, the last of the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner's collegiate career.
So when Williams took the field in Buffalo Saturday afternoon to make his NFL preseason debut—after the Bears won the toss and elected to receive—the No. 1 overall pick felt a level of control and comfort he'd been longing for.
"It felt good," Williams said in his postgame press conference. "There's always a little bit more of a focus you have going into games for whatever reason, even if you try and enter that mindset and things like that throughout the weeks. It's just a sense of control, a sense of progress, a bunch of different things that when you get into games, the comfort level and all of that normally skyrockets."
Throughout the 18 snaps he played, that comfort level, along with Williams' confidence, was apparent. He showed flashes of the traits that made him this year's top draft choice — patience in the pocket, improvisation, accuracy on the move and scrambling ability.
After a pair of runs and a holding penalty to start the Bears' opening drive, Williams dropped back on third-and-12. He hung in the pocket for over three seconds as the offensive line provided stellar protection and waited for receiver DJ Moore to break open right at the first-down marker.
Williams fired the 12-yard pass on time and with perfect accuracy, allowing Moore to haul it in while being draped by a Bills defender.
"It was zone," Moore told reporters after the game, "so [I] just sat in the hole and he put it on me, and we got the first down."
On the very next snap, Williams demonstrated his ability to create explosive play opportunities while under pressure.
As the Bills flooded the pocket, Williams, through a hand in his face, spotted a glimpse of D'Andre Swift and dished a shovel pass to the running back. Swift then showed off his speed, sprinting 42 yards downfield for the Bears' longest play of the game.
From a distance, it looked as though Williams completed a no-look pass to Swift, but he told reporters he briefly saw Swift prior to releasing the ball because of his bright orange gloves.
"I did see [Swift]," Williams said. "It wasn't a no-look. I wish I could claim it was, but it wasn't. … So I saw it open and I could feel the defenders breaking through the line, which they should on a screen. So [the] offensive line did a great job making it seem believable that they were gonna let up a sack. Then [I] tossed it over the [defender's] head and we got around 40 yards or so, so it was great."
While the drive only resulted in a field goal, Williams and the first-team offense returned for a second series. Halfway through the 12-play drive, Williams displayed his pinpoint accuracy on the run.
On first-and-10 from the Chicago 41, Williams faked a handoff to running back Khalil Herbert, rolled right and pump-faked to buy time as Bills defensive end Dawuane Smoot chased after him. Running toward the Bears bench, Williams spotted a small window of space for tight end Cole Kmet to take advantage of.
With his left foot in the air and right foot on its way off the ground, Williams delivered a 26-yard strike to Kmet along the sideline.
"We've been repping this play for a while now," Williams said, "and just getting those reps in has been key. You come out on gameday and the seas part and Cole is running down the sideline. My job is just to get him the ball in space and let our players like Cole and them do their magic. … Cole did a great job selling it and breaking it to the corner."
After displaying three different types of playmaking ability with his arm, Williams showcased the talent he possesses with his legs.
On third-and-9 at the Buffalo 32, Williams had an idea of what the defense would give him. When the Bills dropped out after initially showing pressure, Williams turned to his instincts and scrambled 13 yards before sliding for the first down.
"At first I thought — I think Damar [Hamlin] was on the left side — I thought he was gonna rotate and the right safety was gonna rotate down," Williams recalled. "He bluffed it and got over top of the vertical to Rome [Odunze]. After that I got down to my back, and my back was covered and I saw the seas part, realized it was two-man and took off."
While Williams led the first-team offense to the red zone on both drives, the unit was unable to reach the end zone on either series. Still, teammates like Moore were happy with their quarterback's debut.
"He did good," Moore added. "First two drives, it was amazing. He went out there with a bunch of confidence and he did good. … He was loud and precise with the calls, and everything was great."
Williams understands that in the preseason, defenses won't show their best looks or have all their star players on the field, but he still felt good about being back between the lines in a game setting. He is excited to soak in the exciting moments as they come, but also remains focused on the big picture heading into the regular season.
"You have to understand where we are and understand what we have and where we're headed — that's the most important thing," Williams said. "But you also have to be where your feet are. So when you're out there on the field preparing for this game, you're enjoying it, you're having fun, you're having a blast on the field.
"When we get in early tomorrow, we take a step back, we go through the tape and then onto the next preseason [game]. You take it from there and you keep growing, you keep growing, you keep growing and then we just keep counting those days, counting those hours and getting after it."
