LONDON — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a few words with himself on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sideline Sunday.
DJ Moore was open streaking toward the left corner of the end zone in the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Williams didn’t put enough “juice” on the ball. It floated through the air a little bit more than he wanted, and that gave Jaguars safety Andre Cisco time to jump in front of Moore for an interception.
“I was a bit pissed off at myself just because that’s a pass that you don’t miss,” Williams said. “I think resetting myself was important, but still, having that in the back of my mind — can’t have that happen again, and let’s go out here and go score.”
Williams’ reset button certainly was effective.
When Williams came back to the huddle on the next drive after the defense forced a three-and-out, wide receiver Keenan Allen heard him let out a cry of “Let’s go!” Allen knew Williams hadn’t lost any confidence.
“I was like, ‘OK, let’s see how this goes,’” Allen said. “And then bing, bam, boom, we went all the way down the field.”
Williams led the Bears to touchdowns on their next four drives on the way to a 35-16 blowout and their third straight win.
He was in command, efficient and — but for that interception — on point for much of the game as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns apiece to Cole Kmet and Allen, and a 124.4 passer rating. He also rushed for a career-high 56 yards. His four touchdowns were the most by a quarterback at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in 2019.
The performance was another big step in the rookie’s development, growth that his teammates said has been visible every week through the first six of the season. It also pushed the Bears into their bye week with a 4-2 record and hope that even bigger things are ahead.
“He was obviously in a rhythm after the first couple of drives,” Allen said. “You can tell he’s just dialing them up. … When he’s in a groove like that and all the balls are catchable, it’s pretty easy to play receiver.”
Williams had touchdown passes of 31 and 2 yards to Kmet sandwiched around the interception. The latter completed an 85-yard drive in which Williams took off for scrambles of 23 and 19 yards to fuel a 14-3 halftime lead.
“He did some really amazing stuff,” Kmet said. “If they are going to play man on us like they did a few times and things might be covered or muddy downfield, he’s able to escape the pocket and get 20 or 30 yards on some of those runs.
“He’s just super dynamic. He’s a pass-first guy, but he has the ability to run, as well, and I think he did a pretty good job of taking care of himself when he does become a runner.”
Williams was also impressive after halftime as he zeroed in on a different target.
Allen, the six-time Pro Bowler in his first season with the Bears, had his long-awaited breakout game after battling plantar fasciitis over the first three weeks of the season. He had three catches each of his last two games upon his return from the injury but hadn’t gotten into the end zone entering Sunday.
Then, less than four minutes into the third quarter, Williams dropped back from the 9-yard line and ripped a pass into the end zone to Allen, who had beaten linebacker Devin Lloyd. Allen spun to make the catch and tumbled to the ground, where he stayed for the offense’s pre-planned London-themed celebration.
Allen motioned for his teammates to sit with him cross-legged on the ground in a circle as they pretended to sip tea, pinkies in the air.
“It’s always fun when you can have those things come to life,” Williams said. “It’s really enjoyable to go out there and watch those boys do their job and have fun and do things like that.”
Tea time 🫖 pic.twitter.com/xUaXYVFGDP
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 13, 2024
Williams said after the game that the 32-year-old Allen is like a big brother to him and praised his patience as they tried to connect.
Williams targeted Allen again at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Allen blew by cornerback Montaric Brown to the left side of the end zone. Allen caught what he said was a “perfect ball” for a 3-yard touchdown and a 28-10 lead.
“It was just pack and go at that point,” said Allen, who finished with five catches for 41 yards.
It was an unusual week for the Bears and Williams, who was playing his first game overseas. They arrived Tuesday in London so they would be acclimated to the time change for the game. But as Williams noted, that meant he spent the week away from his house, his dog and his bed. It meant struggling with sleep the first couple of days. It meant preparing and practicing in an unfamiliar countryside resort.
The win made it all easier.
“Being able to take that eight-, nine-hour flight home with a win going into the bye week, it feels great,” Williams said.
Williams’ breakout games the last two weeks have come against some of the worst defenses in the league, the Carolina Panthers and Jaguars, who entered Sunday with the 32nd-ranked pass defense.
That doesn’t take away from the Bears feeling good about Williams’ performance as they head into their break.
Williams said he believes he has been seeing the game well and feels an increased comfort in how he operates because of the time on task. Coach Matt Eberflus has been impressed with Williams’ ability and desire to learn and grow.
“He knows that he’s always working and improving and growing,” Eberflus said. “This year is a big year for him to be able to learn the game up here. He’s always been good enough in terms of the talent and those things. But he’s learning the game and learning our offense and learning our skill sets that we have.”
And learning how to use his mistakes to fire himself up too.
