The very dark temptation is to say that, hey, Justin Fields wasn’t built in a day.
But that would be cruel after all the gloom Bears fans have experienced with quarterbacks over the years. It would also miss the point of what happened Sunday at Soldier Field.
Madness happened, and none of it had to do with Caleb Williams, bearer of outsized hopes and heavy-duty dreams.
The Bears beat Tennessee 24-17 in the season opener, and their offense didn’t score a touchdown. If this were a Marvel movie, it would be the first one in which the protagonist decided to stay home and read a good book.
All the Bears’ points were unanswered, thanks in a big way to a blocked punt that was returned by for a touchdown and a 43-yard pick-six by Tyrique Stevenson. Fun stuff. Crazy stuff. Just not what it was supposed to be.
The Hollywood script would have had the California kid carrying the day for the Bears. Instead, the rookie quarterback went 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a passer rating of 55.7. He had several overthrows and missed his target on a few other passes. The performance wasn’t what anyone would describe as “good.’’ But it wasn’t like something from his predecessor, Fields. That might have included a lost fumble, an interception or a bad sack. So there’s that.
And there’s this: Williams became the first No. 1 overall pick to win his first career start since the Texans’ David Carr in 2002. That might be because top picks almost always play for bad teams. This Bears team isn’t that.
“[I] didn’t perform the way I wanted to,’’ Williams said. “I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss, all these other things. So I think there’s small things that always lead up to big things . . . that make games a lot closer.’’
His potential was on display during several plays, but one early in the second quarter stood out. He rolled to his right and threw on the run to DJ Moore, who needed all of his strength to hold onto what can only be described as a projectile. It’s the kind of throw that a certain kind of Bears fan will fall happily asleep to at night and the kind that will cause opposing defensive coordinators to toss and turn.
There weren’t nearly enough of those, but the promise of Williams and the entire premise of the story the Bears are writing, is that there will be many more. The quarterback, who has a fondness for nail polish, had “#18 Da Bears’’ painted on his fingers for this game. Maybe next time go with “More Points.’’
This Chicago film script had a blocked punt by Daniel Hardy that was picked up by teammate Jonathan Owens and returned 21 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Not exactly NFL superhero stuff, except for Owens’ wife, Olympic star Simone Biles. Those movies almost always star a quarterback. This was a documentary about a gritty football team that reflects a gritty city. It will do.
What’s that? You expected more from Williams? Expected him to arrive caped? Of course you did. Lots of people did. Nobody expected “unremarkable.’’ But his numbers would have looked a little better if receivers had held onto a few of his passes.
“When you start a rookie quarterback, which we were doing, he’s going to have ups and downs, and good moments and other moments, so we have to just play well around him,’’ coach Matt Eberflus said. “Make sure the operation’s clean. Make sure we won’t turn the ball over and give people short fields and free plays. It’s OK to end the series with a kick.’’
Defense and special teams bailed out the offense, and although this won’t be a popular thought in Chicago, perhaps that’s how it will be for a while as Williams develops.
“He is a talent,’’ Eberflus said. “He’s smart as a whip and knows the offense. We’ve just got to keep playing well around him as he grows and reinvests and improves. He’s going to learn a lot these first three or four games in terms of the NFL looks, the NFL speed.’’
The Bears’ defense is good when it wants to be, and there were stretches in the first half when its want-to might have been in question. But it played better in the second half. The payoff was Stevenson’s interception of a terrible idea of a pass by the Titans’ Will Levis in the fourth quarter.
And what was Stevenson thinking when he saw the ball floating in front of him? “Crib,’’ he said. “Go to the crib. Celebrate yourself and celebrate with your teammates.’’
Williams said he had predicted an interception right before it happened. So he had a perfect day in at least one category.
Other than that, he has some work to do.
“I have to be better,’’ he said. “I will be better.’’