When Caleb Williams celebrated the Bears’ first touchdown Sunday, he found some breathing room for the first time since Week 1.
Before Roschon Johnson’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone in the second quarter of an eventual 24-18 win against the Rams, the Bears hadn’t led for almost two-and-a-half games — 144 minutes and 18 seconds — dating to the end of their season-opening win against the Titans. Even in the opener, they led for only 7 minutes and 28 seconds.
Forced to chase points, Williams threw the most passes in the NFL through three weeks. The Bears ran 84 plays against the Colts in Week 3, the third-most in franchise history during a non-overtime game since the NFL-AFL merger.
None of that was normal, or healthy for a rookie quarterback’s development. It was, instead, oh-so-perfectly Bears — and the opposite of what a rookie quarterback should be asked to do.
Buoyed by a competent run game Sunday for the first time all season, Williams was allowed to play a conventional game — and he played it well. The Bears never trailed after Johnson’s touchdown. They seized momentum and purpose, and didn’t have to press.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson noticed — especially because the defense put the Rams in the opposite situation. The Rams gave up the lead in the second quarter and never got it back.
“Style of play is different when you’re down,” Johnson said Monday. “You have to put the ball in the air. You have to get chunk plays, explosive plays to score quickly and then get the ball back. So I mean just for [the Bears offense] it’s the same thing — being able to have that lead, being able to run the ball a little more and be a little more aggressive in the run game. Try to get that going when you’re up, so it definitely changes everything.”
Williams’ stats back it up:
• Playing with a lead this season — mostly Sunday — he’s gone 14-for-17 for 136 yards, one touchdown and a 119.6 passer rating. Only four quarterbacks have a better passer rating in the same situation: the Bills’ Josh Allen, the Packers’ Malik Willis, the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.
• When trailing, Williams has gone 62-for-104 for two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 68.8 passer rating. Among quarterbacks with at least 75 passes in the same situation, Williams has the third-worst passer rating.
• With the score tied, he’s gone 11-for-20 for 86 yards, one interception and a 45 passer rating. That passer rating ranks last among all quarterbacks with at least 20 passes in that setting.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Monday he didn’t think playing with the lead was markedly different for Williams — “Those situations change fast; A team could score on you, then you’re down,” he said — but was happy with how Williams and the offense closed the game. The Bears started a drive with 4:14 to play and ahead by six. The Bears earned one first down, forced the Rams to use the two-minute warning and their last two timeouts and gave them the ball back with 1:03 to go.
“I thought we operated good as a football team there,” Williams said.
It was, they hope, good practice for their rookie quarterback.
Just as Williams rode the momentum of a lead throughout the game, he can ride it all week, too. It’s better than the alternative.
“This was a big win,” tight end Cole Kmet, who grew up a Bears fan in Arlington Heights. “I’m not gonna lie — 1-3 is a lot different than 2-2. I know how things are [around Chicago] when things start to dip. This was a big one.”