A look into Caleb Williams and Justin Fields’ first two starts of the season originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The first two starts of Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams‘ career, and former Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ with his new team, are officially in the books.
Williams became the first rookie quarterback to win his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002. Although, even he will probably tell you he wasn’t quite responsible for the outcome of that game, as the offense is still working to find its rhythm.
Fields is stepping in for Russell Wilson — the designated QB1 — as the veteran recovers from a calf injury he sustained during training camp. Fields has led the Steelers to two straight wins to open the season. Although similar to Williams, his numbers will tell you he did enough to overcome how little the Steelers’ defense would allow its opponent.
Here are each quarterback’s numbers through two weeks, accompanied by their league standing.
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 (14)
The question on all Bears fans’ minds is clear — will Williams outperform Fields and justify the decision to trade him to the Steelers?
First, Bears fans should understand the specifics of what they’ve seen through the first two weeks. Williams’ play has been shaky; he’s thrown some inaccurate balls, failed to escape the pocket and tried to extend plays to a fault.
However, the offense around him hasn’t performed well, either. The offensive line ranks 30th in pass-blocking win rate, according to ESPN analytics; Williams has rarely seen a clean pocket since making 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 at this juncture to blame the roster. The Bears have all the talent necessary to own 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 robust backfield highlighted by D’Andre Swift. And, of course, Williams.
Fields went through a similar rigamarole with the Bears. The offense was widely scrutinized for a lack of talent and lack of structure from head coach Matt Nagy and former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fields constantly had to overcompensate with his legs for the offense’s shortcomings, evidenced by his 1,000-yard rushing season.
Some could argue, was Fields truly the problem, or was the Bears’ roster and coaching the issue?
It goes both ways. But Fields had his own drawbacks he failed to overcome. His legs became a crutch for his offensive production. His reads were glaringly slow and his footwork was shoddy. From preseason film with the Steelers, it’s evident he developed a quicker mindset to bail out of the pocket in the face of danger, too.
Williams has several items to improve upon, also. He isn’t immune to the rigorous ebbs and flows of being an NFL rookie quarterback; one who’s thrust into starting right away, too. And Fields knows how difficult rookie seasons can be. In his first two starts, he completed 46% of his passes for 277 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
This might be an unfair comparison, considering Fields didn’t have the much improved supporting cast Williams does. But still, Fields struggled to produce even with an improved roster in 2023.
Other great quarterbacks have gotten off to horrific starts to begin their careers. Peyton Manning threw six interceptions over his first two starts. John Elway completed just over 30% of his passes for 120 yards over his first two starts. Troy Aikman threw four interceptions in his first two games.
That’s just the way being an NFL quarterback works as a rookie.
But for the Bears, specifically, they know they have to clean up areas around Williams to help him out.
“Having good variety, having a good mix of what we’re asking him to do in different known passing situations right there,” Waldron said Thursday at Halas Hall. “Obviously, having the run game come to life in some of those scenarios as well and really being able to mix and match and play with some variety.
“I think all of that will (be) what are the breather plays throughout the plan, what are the chances for the ball-out plays, which I think he did a really good job this past week, you know, in all of the underneath completions, finding completions, playing clean and then when the big-play opportunities happen, like we talked about earlier, then they come naturally throughout the course of the game.”
Luckily for the Bears, they have a quarterback willing to put his head down and figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle, too.
“I think Caleb has done a great job with what he’s been asked to do, don’t feel like it’s too much,” Waldron said. “And he’s continuing to grow. I can’t say enough about his attitude. Each day he comes into work ready to learn, ready to continue.
“You know, you’re going to see different blitz patterns, you’re going to see different front structures, you’re going to see game plan elements every single week, and I think for him, the more reps he gets, the more times he sees it in those game scenarios, the better he’s going to continue to get every single week.”
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