The Bears’ first practice in full pads was messy Friday, but quarterback Caleb Williams finished with a flourish.
Williams had a rough day until coming through with a successful two-minute drill near the end. He fired a 20-yard fastball to wide receiver Keenan Allen in the middle of the field — Williams’ best play of the day — to get the offense to the opponent’s 35-yard line, and two plays later took advantage of a blown coverage to hit Tyler Scott for a 35-yard touchdown.
It wasn’t clear exactly what the defensive lapse was, but Scott was wide open down the right side of the field, ahead of safety Jaquan Brisker.
Before that, it was ugly. The offense and defense had pre-snap penalties, including two false starts in a row by the offense.
The Bears managed to avoid any major confrontations or fights despite a chippy atmosphere from the start of practice. Safety Jonathan Owens knocked running back D’Andre Swift to the ground on a questionable hit, but players quickly made sure it didn’t escalate.
Defensive end DeMarcus Walker went after tight end Gerald Everett after a play, and Williams stepped in front of Walker to slow him down. He quickly backed off.