CINCINNATI — Caleb Williams took the field for the first time in a game setting this year and led the Bears to a field goal on their opening drive. Kicker Cairo Santos made a 45-yard kick to cap a drive in which Williams went 2-for-5 for 28 yards.
The biggest play of the drive was one Williams didn’t make — he overthrew tight end Colston Loveland on what would have been a touchdown.
The quarterback was playing against a Bengals defense made up of mostly second- and third-stringers. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Thursday he would not play his starters.
Williams and most of the Bears’ regular starters took the field Saturday night. Head coach Ben Johnson had been non-committal about Johnson playing an exhibition game, claiming he’d make the decision after the Bears and Bengals had a joint practice Thursday. Complicating matters was the fact that Tyson Bagent, the team’s second-string quarterback, did not make the trip after hurting his hamstring in the preseason opener.
Johnson told the Bears’ pregame show on ESPN 1000 that Williams was “prepared to play as long as he needs to for our offense.”
Williams and most of the Bears’ relevant offensive players sat out against the Browns. His game action Saturday mimicked what happened last year, when sat out the first preseason game and played 14 snaps in the second just three days after a joint practice against the Bills.