There were times Sunday when it felt like the Vikings were blitzing more than any team had all year.
Turns out, they came close. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams dropped back to pass 36 times in Sunday’s 19-17 win. The Vikings blitzed a whopping two-thirds of the time, the second-highest blitz rate in the league this year, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
“A couple times throughout the game, I’m dropping back and you’re trying to figure out the coverage,” Williams said after the game. “And a bunch of different guys are flying to different areas.”
It wasn’t just the volume that surprised the Bears — they suspected blitz-happy defensive coordinator Brian Flores would bring more rushers than he did in their Week 1 matchup. Exactly where the blitzers came from, though, was a new one. Flores was bringing “Cat” blitzes from cornerbacks — as exotic the coordinator can be, he usually doesn’t blitz his corners.
“I thought we recognized it fairly early,” coach Ben Johnson said. “And we did the best we could as a staff and as players to make our adjustments to it.”
Williams targeted receivers more than 20 yards deep only five times and 15 yards or more only five other times. Eleven of his 32 passes were five yards or shorter — including five that were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
“We were able to either pick [the blitz] up or get the ball out or see him or throw hot or throw a checkdown …” Williams said. “We did a good job with that.”
Williams was sacked just twice and was never touched by a defensive back. Unlike counterpart J.J. McCarthy, who threw two interceptions, Williams didn’t turn the ball over. Only seven teams force more fumbles than the Vikings, and Williams didn’t fumble the ball away.
“The best thing he did was he kept the ball out of harm’s way,” Johnson said.
That’s probably the most positive thing that can be said about Williams’ performance, in which he went 16-for-32 for 193 yards and a 68.9 passer rating. He’ll need to do more as the season wears on and the Bears face better competition. The Steelers, their opponent Sunday, rank third in the league in sacks and are tied for fourth in turnover margin.
Flores’ defensive has few peers, in terms of effectiveness and aggression, but there are still lessons Williams needs to learn from his showing Sunday.
As careful as he was with the ball, Williams wasn’t able to punish the Vikings when he caught them in a blitz.
“We sat and we watched the tape — we had a couple opportunities there to really get some big plays potentially down the field,” Johnson said. “We didn’t capitalize on those.”
Through the NFL’s first 10 weeks, the Bears led the league with 78 explosive plays — defined as runs of more than 10 yards and passes of more than 20. Sunday, they had only two such throws and one such run, a Williams scramble. Even Thomas Brown’s Bears had more explosive plays at U.S. Bank Stadium last year than the Bears did Sunday.
On third-and-nine on their third offensive play of the game, Williams, who had plenty of time in the pocket, overthrew receiver Odunze on a stutter-and-go up the right sideline.
“Sometimes that happens early in the game — when you take a deep shot, you’re not quite in a rhythm yet and that can get away from you,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t too terribly disappointed by it.”
The next Bears’ next third down was more frustrating. Needing nine yards, Williams threw a deep corner route that wasn’t close. He was pressured by blitzing inside linebacker Blake Cashman.
“That’s one that we need to hit,” Johnson said. “DJ did a nice job popping open there on that one and I think that’s one of the few that Caleb would like back.”