QB Caleb Williams marches Bears to TD on his first drive

Caleb Williams did something Monday night he didn’t do all last year — score a touchdown on his first drive.

The Bears quarterback marched the Bears on 61-yard touchdown drive against the Vikings, scrambling and stretching the ball over the front left pylon for a nine-yard score to give the Bears a 7-0 lead.

The Bears scored only twice on their first possession last year — and both were field goals.

Williams was efficient on the first drive, completing all six passes he threw for 51 yards. He converted two third downs — the scramble and a 17-yard pass along the right sideline to Rome Odunze to convert third-and-5. Williams was flushed out of the pocket and zipped the pass to Odunze before the receiver fell out of bounds.

Williams did have one pre-snap gaffe. He sent receiver Olamide Zaccheaus in motion as the play clock ticked down and was forced to take a timeout rather than a five-yard delay of game penalty. He completed the pass to Odunze on the next play.

Accord to NFL Next Gen Stats, Williams ran 20.3 mph on the touchdown run, the fastest run of his career and the 10th-fastest by a quarterback dating to last season.

The Bears punted on their second drive after Williams threw a screen pass behind Odunze on third-and-2 for a loss of four yards.