Schrock’s Report Card: Grading Caleb Williams, Bears in loss vs. Colts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
INDIANAPOLIS — The Bears entered the week with a golden opportunity in front of them.
They split their first two games despite an offense still trying to find its identity with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears had been unable to run the ball in their first two games and struggled to protect Williams behind a shaky offensive line.
But the NFL schedule-makers smiled on them, presenting them with a runway to improve against the league’s three-worst run defenses in Weeks 3-5.
That road started Sunday with a bout against an 0-2 Colts team with a putrid run defense and a raw young quarterback in Anthony Richardson, who has a penchant for turning the ball over.
On paper, Sunday’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium was a perfect opportunity for the Bears to get right. They needed to treat the Colts’ defense like a speed bag in the run game, get Williams into rhythm early, avoid turnovers, limit explosives, and turn Richardson over.
Instead, the Bears walked into Indianapolis and averaged 4.7 yards per play, 2.3 yards per rush, and turned it over three times in a deflating 21-16 loss that saw them fall to 1-2.
Here’s a report card for a team that is already on its backfoot three games into the season:
Passing offense
The stat sheet looks pretty for Williams.
The No. 1 overall pick went 33-for-52 for 363 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss.
But those numbers feel a little bit like lipstick on a pig. The Bears trailed 21-9 midway through the fourth quarter and were only able to really find a rhythm in the passing game when the Colts were playing back and trying to limit the explosive plays behind them.
Williams had several nice moments. The 47-yard dot to Rome Odunze down the sideline was an all-world toss. He had a later completion to DeAndre Carter on which he navigated pressure, climbed the pocket, and threw with anticipation across the middle. But he also had two interceptions and was stripped on a sack late in the game.
The first interception was a “rhythm throw” that Williams was not in sync with. He tried to come back to Carter on a curl route late, but cornerback Jaylon Jones jumped the route for the interception. On the second interception, Williams saw the defender’s back was turned and tried to throw a ball for Odunze to go up and get. But the corner got his hand in there and deflected it off Odunze and into the hands of Jones.
On the strip sack, Williams said he felt Colts rookie Laiatu Latu coming around the edge but wanted to make small movements to navigate it because Odunze was about to pop open behind the linebackers. But Latu got on him quicker than anticipated and knocked the ball loose before Williams could rip it to Odunze.
The rookie quarterback knows he has to clean up the turnovers, but he saw Sunday’s offensive output as a positive step as the Bears work to flesh out their identity.
Williams’ teammates were also encouraged by the growth he showed in Game 3.
“I mean, I thought at times he looked like the No. 1 overall pick,” tight end Cole Kmet said after the loss. “He had a swagger about him. Getting rid of the ball. His decisiveness with the football. Giving us receivers chances. That was really cool to see.”
GRADE: B-minus (the stats are nice, but the execution is still lacking for long stretches)
Running offense
Last week, the Green Bay Packers lined up and ran it down the Colts’ throat for four quarters in support of backup quarterback Malik Willis.
The Bears should have been able to come in and do the same thing Sunday.
They couldn’t.
The Bears rushed 28 times for 63 yards Sunday. Lead back D’Andre Swift rushed 13 times for 20 yards and had a zero percent success rate.
Second-year running back Roschon Johson led the team with 30 yards on eight carries.
The fact that the Bears not only chose to have Williams throw 52 times but also needed him to is an indictment of the offensive line, the backs, and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
“I threw it 52 times? Jeez,” Williams said after the loss. “I’ll do whatever the team needs. If it’s 50 times, it’s 50 times. I can’t have the two turnovers with those 50 attempts. And if it ends up being 10 times and I complete 9 of those 10 and we have 300 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns, I’m fully aware, fully ready to do whatever that may seem, whatever the team needs. If it comes down to being 50 attempts and slinging the ball around, if it comes down to being 10 attempts, it’s whatever the team needs to get the win.”
The Bears planned to lean on their run game early to help Williams settle in and find his footing. However, that plan is no longer viable due to their inability to get anything going on the ground.
“If our identity is going to be passing the ball, we should focus on that,” wide receiver DJ Moore said after the loss. “Then, the run game will hit because everybody is backing off. If we’re going to run the ball we’re going to have to do it successfully and then throw the ball downfield with play action.”
GRADE: F-minus
Pass defense
The Bears picked Richardson off twice on Sunday. Both came on passes that were thrown directly to the Bears’ defense, but those count the same.
However, the Bears’ pass defense allowed several explosive plays in the pass game, including a 44-yard pass to Alec Pierce that had cornerback Jaylon Johnson still mad after the game.
“I don’t get over it,” Johnson said after the loss. “For me, it’s one of those things where I’m not over it but I keep playing. I know how to do both at this point in my career. Knowing what the standard is for myself and that’s not the standard.”
When informed that Pierce has made a few explosive plays early this season, Johnson scoffed.
“That don’t got s–t to do with me,” Johnson said.
All told, the Bears’ defense held Richardson to 167 yards on 50 percent completion. But the explosives they allowed directly led to touchdown runs by Jonathan Taylor and Trey Sermon.
It was a good effort but, as Johnson noted, not the standard.
GRADE: B
Run defense
Taylor is a tough back to keep in check. He is a patient runner who wades behind his line before exploding through the holes once they open.
The Bears’ run defense did a good job of making Taylor work for his yards, but they still allowed him to go for 110 yards at 4.8 yards a carry, including a 29-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Bears did a good job of keeping Richardson in check on the ground (24 yards on eight carries), but Taylor did enough damage to carry Indianapolis to a win.
GRADE: B
Special teams
Cairo Santos missed a 56-yard kick that was on the edge of his range. Daniel Hardy had a critical offsides penalty on fourth down that extended a Colts drive and led to their second touchdown.
Not a special day.
GRADE: C
Coaching
Be it the speed option on fourth-and-goal at the inch line or burning a timeout after a touchdown, Sunday was a banner day for coaching malpractice with the Bears.
The offensive play-calling was putrid for most of the day, and Eberflus’ time management gaffe was an inexcusable blunder.
The coaching has to improve if the Bears are going to rebound and be the playoff contenders they were expected to be.
GRADE: F