Caleb Williams needed this. Ben Johnson needed this. The Chicago Bears, more than anyone, needed this.
The Bears dismantled the Cowboys on Sunday, 31-14, with an offense that finally resembled the one fans had imagined when Williams was drafted first overall and Johnson was hired to orchestrate a rebuild. It was fast. It was explosive. It was bruising. It was fun.
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Two weeks into the season, Williams had been uneven. There were few signs of progress from his frustration-filled rookie season. The flashes of greatness were still there, but they were again sandwiched around moments of disappointment. His accuracy was erratic, his decision-making inconsistent and he struggled to get to grips with the breadth and complexity of Johnson’s offense. Johnson, the new head coach tasked with reshaping a broken franchise, had already seen an 11-point lead vanish in Week 1 and a 50-point throttling at the hands of his former team in Week 2.
On Sunday, everything clicked. The Bears didn’t just beat the Cowboys; they hammered them.
You could pinpoint the exact moment the Williams-Johnson partnership came together. With four minutes left in the first quarter, Johnson dialled up a flea flicker. Williams pitched the ball to running back D’Andre Swift to attack the line of scrimmage. But it was a fake-out. Swift turned and tossed the ball back to Williams. The ball hung in the air, but, in an instant, Williams gathered it, surveyed the field and threw a 65-yard dot to Rome Odunze.
It was the most exhilarating play Chicago has had in a generation, and the longest completed pass of the season so far. According to Next Gen Stats, Williams’ throw traveled 62.1 yards in the air. From there, the Bears didn’t relent.
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By half-time, Williams had put together the smoothest, most efficient performance of his career: 10-for-16, 239 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, a passer rating of 145.8. It was even sweeter coming against a defense coached by Matt Eberflus, whom the Bears fired in November, in part, for mishandling the development of Williams. The Cowboys are still dealing with the aftershocks of the Micah Parsons trade. They cannot rush the passer, stuff the run or cover anyone. For the first time in his career, Williams had time and open receivers – and he tore a defense apart.
By the end, Williams had tied his career high with four touchdown passes and set new marks for yards per attempt (10.6) and passer rating (142.6). Most significantly, he didn’t take a single sack. For a quarterback dragged down 68 times last year, the third-most in NFL history, it was as important as the touchdowns. His last sack-free game came two years ago in college. The pocket, for once, was clean, and he spread the ball around to eight different targets and finished with four touchdowns to four different receivers.
The Bears even produced something they haven’t in more than 15 years: a 19-play drive. The last one, in 2009, fizzled with a turnover on downs. This one ended with Williams sneaking a touchdown on fourth-and-goal. It was another sign that Johnson’s Bears had arrived, with an offense capable of controlling the tempo of the game or scoring in a flash.
The Johnson-Williams marriage, despite their reputations, was no sure thing. The two have contrasting styles. Johnson craves rhythm. He is exacting about the details. Williams offers the opposite. He’s a feel player, a playmaker, who thrives when he can break out of the pocket and create plays on his own. Last season, he finished second-last in completion percentage on rhythm throws and attempts when he was not pressured. His work habits were questioned by his coaches. The lack of structure around him hid real flaws in his game, flaws that were exposed in the opening two weeks. The Bears’ first two games were littered with pre-snap penalties. Williams missed receivers. He held on to the ball too long, passing up open targets. Just as when he was a rookie, Williams tried to do too much. It’s fair to wonder if an improvizer could cut it in the league’s most melodic offense. And those questions will still linger despite Sunday.
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The NFL is a rhythm league. Even the best quarterbacks – Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes – rely on the flow of the offense to get them rolling, saving their individual magic for must-have-it-plays. For the first time against a lackluster Cowboys group, Williams found the right blend between giving himself over to the offense and creating plays out of structure.
Still, it’s only one game and the Cowboys defense is reeling. In Dallas’ last two outings, they’ve given up 891 yards, 720 of them through the air, and eight passing touchdowns. They pressured Williams at the lowest rate of his career on Sunday and conceded 19 “open-window” throws, the highest from any defense of this season to date.
But in Chicago, perspective is optional. The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020. They’ve had one winning season since 2013. Williams is the third quarterback they’ve drafted in the first round since 2017, and Johnson is the fifth head coach over that span. Hope here isn’t about rationality.
Johnson recognizes there is still work to be done. “It will be fun for tonight, and we’re on to the next one,” Johnson said post-game. “We’re behind the eight-ball here. We’re 1-2, and we’ve got to get back to .500.”
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But Sunday wasn’t about standings. It was about what it looked like when the pieces fell in place. About the promise of free hotdogs from The Wieners Circle. About Williams playing aggressive, mistake-free football.
For a franchise defined by the quarterbacks it never had, Williams has finally given the Bears some hope.
MVP of the week
Isaiah Rodgers, CB, Minnesota Vikings. In a single half, Rodgers became the first player in NFL history to record a pick-six, a fumble returned for a touchdown, and two forced fumbles in the same game, as the Vikings steamrolled the Bengals 48-10, the most lopsided loss in Cincinnati’s history. Rodgers snagged an 87-yard pick-six and added a 66-yard scoop-and-score in the Vikings’ 48-10 win. He added another punchout for garnish.
By half-time, Rodgers had outscored 13 of the 18 teams in action across the early slate. The 27-year-old – who has a 4.28 second 40-yard dash – is one of the quickest players in the league, and he showed off his wheels in the open field on both takeaways. “He’s begging me to return kickoffs,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said in the preseason. After an impromptu showing on two defensive plays, maybe O’Connell will give him a try.
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Video of the week
Nothing beats a thicc six. And what better way for a defensive lineman to score than by blocking a potential walk-off field goal and returning it for a touchdown? Enter: Jordan Davis.
The Eagles’ defensive tackle spiked a last-second field goal effort from the Rams, returning it 61 yards to the house. Davis hit 18.59 mph on the scoop-and-score, the fastest speed a 330lbs player has ever reached as a ball-carrier, according to Next Gen Stats. “I haven’t run that quick since the combine,” Davis said post-game. It’s the second time in two weeks the Rams have lost on a blocked field goal.
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Philly put together an impressive second-half comeback to beat the Rams 33-26. But for the third-straight week, the Eagles’ offense looked anaemic for much of the game. They tried to bully the Rams’ defensive front, lining up in heavy personnel groupings and pounding away with the run. It was a dud, with the Eagles finishing with just 33 net yards in the first half. In the second half, though, Philly discovered the forward pass, and Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown diced up a shaky Rams secondary. Despite their talent, the defending champs have cracks on offense. Their passing game is stilted, the play-calling uninspired. But the second-half offered a blueprint moving forward: throw to Brown.
Stat of the week
3-0. The Chargers are perfect through three games for the first time in 23 years, back when Drew Brees was the team’s quarterback.
We may have to redefine “Chargering,” because this year’s Chargers are not like the versions that have gone before. They play tough, stout defense. They can run the ball. And with Justin Herbert, they have a quarterback playing brilliantly. Herbert was put under siege by the Broncos in a 23-20 win. Playing behind a reshuffled offensive line, Herbert was sacked five times and pressured on more than half of his dropbacks. But Herbert strapped on his cape in the final stages. His final line may not look impressive at first glance – he had one TD and one interception on Sunday – but he completed 12 of 15 pass attempts for 123 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, delivering the kind of signature moment an MVP candidate needs. With two minutes remaining, Herbert climbed through a collapsing pocket, held off a defender and threw a touchdown strike to Keenan Allen, while on the move and with pressure in his face. Then, Herbert marched the Chargers down the field for the game-winning field goal.
Herbert looks as if he’s ascended to a different level. And the Chargers are 3-0. Thanks to a quirk in the schedule, all three wins have come in the division. Already, they have a hold on the AFC West, including having three tiebreakers.
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Elsewhere around the league
— The Green Bay juggernaut came to a halt in Cleveland. The Browns toughed their way through a 13-10 upset over the Packers, scoring all 13 points in the fourth quarter. Late in the game, Cleveland’s star-studded pass-rush took over, beating up on Green Bay’s injured offensive line. For all the (deserved) fanfare around the Packers’ defense, the team continues to be undone by special teams errors, penalties and costly turnovers. On Sunday, those concerns finally caught up with them. A late Jordan Love interception gave Cleveland the ball inside the Green Bay five-yard line, handing life to a Browns offense that couldn’t get anything going for three quarters and they tied the game at 10-10. The Browns then blocked a potential game-winning field goal, putting them in position to hit a game-winner of their own. In a tough division, it was one the Packers couldn’t afford to cough away.
— The Browns and Eagles were not alone: the Jets also blocked a field goal in the final minutes of their game against the Bucs, returning it for a touchdown to give them an unlikely 27-26 lead with less that two minutes to go. Still, this is the Jets. Baker Mayfield led the Bucs down the field for another late win, with Chase McLaughlin nailing a 36-yard walk-off field goal. It’s the first time in NFL history a quarterback has led a team to three successive game-winning drives to open a season.
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— The Chiefs got their first win of the season with a 22-9 victory over the Giants. Patrick Mahomes still looked strong – he pulled off some trademark beautiful throws – and the defense is as well drilled as you’d expect from coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. But this was hardly a beatdown of a limited Giants team, and we’ll have a better idea of where this KC team really stand when Mahomes and Co face the Ravens next week. There was also a hint of discord as Travis Kelce had a, let’s call it animated, discussion with Andy Reid on the sideline for the second week in a row. “I love Travis’ passion, man,” said Reid after the game. “I’m OK with that. We didn’t have enough of it in the second quarter. It wasn’t where we needed it to be, so, within reason, he knows when to back off the pedal and knows when to push it too.”
— Tory Horton scored the Seahawks’ first punt return touchdown in 10 years as the Seahawks pummelled the Saints 44-13. It was a game of special teams, with the Seahawks scoring on Horton’s 95-yard punt return, blocking a punt and returning a kickoff 60 yards. Thanks to the special teams dominance, Seattle scored on all of their opening seven drives before calling off the dogs in the second half. The game also featured perhaps the saddest field goal in NFL history. Trailing 38-3 as time expired in the first half, Saints coach Kellen Moore opted to kick a field goal to cut Seattle’s lead to a mere 32. It was a white flag moment in the game, and perhaps for the entire Saints season.
— The Patriots turned the ball over five times in a 21-14 defeat to the Steelers, gagging away a winnable game. The Patriots almost doubled the Steelers’ yardage total, but couldn’t escape drive-killing mistakes. They had three consecutive turnovers on three possessions, all in Steelers territory. And two of those turnovers robbed them of points, with Drake Maye throwing an interception in the endzone and Rhamondre Stevenson fumbling on the goalline. For much of the game, the Steelers’ offense struggled to take advantage, stalling out on five-straight drives after scoring on Pittsburgh’s opening two possessions. But Aaron Rodgers delivered down the stretch, leading a long touchdown drive to hand Pittsburgh the win.
— The Texans are 0-3 after a 17-10 loss to the Jaguars, and are already a long shot to make the playoffs. With the Colts streaking away with the AFC South, Houston must rely on other fringe playoff hopefuls slipping up to leave the door open to a wildcard berth. Sunday’s loss was another ugly showing. Despite fielding a championship-level defense, the Texans’ offense remains a mess. The offensive line still cannot protect CJ Stroud. And when there is no pressure, Stroud has started to see ghosts. Against the Jaguars, he missed open targets, fled clean pockets and threw two rough interceptions. The Texans have the Ravens, Bills, Seahawks, Niners, Broncos, Chiefs and Colts (twice) on the schedule. It could be a long slog of a season.
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