A look at Caleb Williams and Justin Fields’ first two starts of the season originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The first two starts for Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and former Bears quarterback Justin Fields with his new team are official.
Williams became the first rookie quarterback to win his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002. Although, even he’ll likely tell you he wasn’t entirely responsible for the outcome of that game, as the offense is still finding its rhythm.
Fields replaces Russell Wilson — the designated QB1 — as the veteran recovers from a calf injury he suffered during training camp. Fields has led the Steelers to two straight wins to open the season. While similar to Williams, his numbers will tell you he did enough to make up for how little the Steelers defense would allow his opponent.
Below are each quarterback’s two-week stats, along with their position in the league.
Caleb Williams: 267 yards (30th), 56.1% completion (27th), 0 TD (31), 2 INT, 24.5 QBR (29th), 53 passer rating (30)
Justin Fields: 273 yards (29th), 69.8% completion (11th), 1 TD (22nd), 0 INT, 40.9 QBR (23rd), 94.4 passer rating (14th)
The question on the minds of all Bears fans is clear: Will Williams outperform Fields and justify the decision to trade him to the Steelers?
First, Bears fans need to understand the details of what they’ve seen over the past two weeks. Williams’ play has been shaky; he’s thrown some inaccurate balls, failed to escape the pocket and tried to extend plays until he fouled.
The offense around him, however, isn’t performing well either. The offensive line ranks 30th in pass-blocking win rate, according to ESPN analytics; Williams has rarely seen a clean pocket since his debut. Shane Waldron’s offensive scheme has some fans scratching their heads. His personnel choices are off-putting, and his play concepts are relatively mundane and uncreative.
Of course, it’s impossible to blame the roster at this point. The Bears have all the talent they need to have a winning record this season. Their pass-catching core of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett is one of the best units in the league. They have a solid backfield, with D’Andre Swift as the standout. And, of course, Williams.
Fields went through a similar rigmarole with the Bears. The offense was widely criticized for its lack of talent and lack of structure by head coach Matt Nagy and former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fields constantly had to overcompensate for the offense’s shortcomings with his legs, which was evident in his 1,000-yard rushing season.
Some might argue that Fields was really the problem, or that it was the Bears’ roster and coaching that were the problem.
It works both ways. But Fields had his own set of disadvantages that he couldn’t overcome. His legs became a crutch to his offensive production. His reads were noticeably slow and his footwork was sloppy. Preseason film with the Steelers showed that he also developed a quicker mindset to jump out of the pocket when danger threatened.
Williams also has some areas to improve. He’s not immune to the rigorous ebb and flow of an NFL rookie quarterback; one who’s also thrust into the starting lineup right away. And Fields knows how tough rookie seasons can be. In his first two starts, he’s completed 46 percent of his passes for 277 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
This may be an unfair comparison, as Fields did not have the much better supporting cast that Williams does. Still, Fields struggled to perform, even with an improved roster in 2023.
Other great quarterbacks have had terrible starts early in their careers. Peyton Manning threw six interceptions in his first two starts. John Elway completed just over 30% of his passes for 120 yards in his first two starts. Troy Aikman threw four interceptions in his first two games.
That’s the life of a starting quarterback in the NFL.
But the Bears in particular know they need to clean up Williams’ environment to help him.
“Good variety, good mix of what we’re asking him to do in different familiar passing situations,” Waldron said Thursday at Halas Hall. “Obviously, making the run game come alive in some of those scenarios and really being able to mix and match and play with some variety.
“I think it’s all going to be: what are the moments of rest in the whole plan, what are the opportunities for the out-of-bounds moments, and I think he’s been really good at that over the last week, you know, with all those clearances, finding clearances, playing cleanly and then when the opportunities for big moments arise, as we talked about earlier, they’ll come naturally as the game goes on.”
Fortunately for the Bears, they have a quarterback willing to keep his head in the game and fill in the missing pieces.
“I think Caleb has done a great job with what he’s been asked to do, I don’t feel like it’s too much,” Waldron said. “And he continues to grow. I can’t say enough about his attitude. Every day he comes to work with the intention to learn, ready to move on.
“You know, you’re going to see different blitz patterns every week, you’re going to see different front structures, you’re going to see game plan elements, and I think the more reps he gets, the more he sees it in those game scenarios, the better he’s going to get every week.”
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