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Though the ever-confident quarterback never doubted himself, Caleb Williams still found his NFL preseason debut performance reassuring in helping lead the Chicago Bears to a 33-6 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
After all, it had been nearly nine months since the rookie No. 1 draft pick handled a snap in a competitive setting.
“Last time I was out there on a field other than practice was November 18th,” Williams said, referring to Southern California’s regular season-ending 38-20 loss to UCLA, before he sat out playing in the Holiday Bowl. “You go that long without something, it’s tough. But no, it’s been great. The guys made it fun. They made it easy on me.”
His Bears teammates could say the same about Williams, who showed awareness and poise in the pocket, hit receivers on the run, and displayed his dual-threat ability by scrambling 13 yards for a first down on third-and-9.
“It was great. Everybody was open today,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Yeah, it gives you hell of a confidence going into the season.”
The 22-year-old Williams went 4 of 7 for 95 yards in overseeing two drives that ended with field goals. Though he wasn’t perfect — Williams was late in nearly throwing an interception on a play wiped out by a Bills defensive penalty away from the ball — the quarterback headed an offense that gained a combined 152 yards and seven first downs on 20 plays over two possessions.
The game was decided a minute into the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville intercepted Shane Buechele’s pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown to put Chicago up 19-6. Velus Jones scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, and Ian Wheeler scored on runs from 7 and 8 yards in the final six minutes.
For Buffalo, Josh Allen went 2 for 3 for 22 yards, and also had a 7-yard run while playing the first quarter of the Bills’ preseason opener. Though the Bills had the ball, Allen gave way to backup Mitch Trubisky to open the second quarter on a drive that ended with…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/caleb-williams-leads-bears-2-field-goal-drives-preseason-debut-33-6-win
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Publish date : 2024-08-11 00:50:44
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