Caleb Williams, other Bears starters will play in preseason finale against Kansas City Chiefs
Caleb Williams made his debut in Ben Johnson's Chicago Bears offense Sunday, and the former Heisman Trophy winner and 2024 No. 1 overall pick teased his franchise-changing potential, which was often hard to locate during his rookie season.
That was against a Buffalo Bills team playing practically only backups, though.
Johnson is trotting out Williams and other Bears starters again Friday night, this time on the road and against a perennial Super Bowl-contending Kansas City Chiefs team that will kick off the teams' preseason finale with its starters as well.
"We'll go ahead, and we'll play [the starters]," Johnson said Tuesday on "Up & Adams."
He added: "We're going to get through a couple days here of practice, and we'll determine for how long. But we need to go through this."
Williams' first drive against the Bills couldn't have gone any better. Backed up at his own 8-yard line after an ill-advised kickoff return, the former Oklahoma and USC quarterback connected with both of his tight ends, a Johnson staple. First he found rookie Colston Loveland, then he dialed up a 28-yard throw over the middle for Cole Kmet. That set the tone for a game-opening scoring drive that saw Williams pile up 97 passing yards - he also overcame an offensive holding penalty - on 5-of-6 passing. He capped off the series with a 36-yard touchdown. Facing a third-and-5, Williams beamed a well-timed pass to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, who galloped in space, gobbled up yards after the catch and reached the end zone.
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Williams' second drive didn't end in points. In fact, he completed only 1-of-4 attempts during the series, but his third-down pass to Rome Odunze probably could have been reeled in despite being a tad wide.
Still, he finished the night 6 of 10 for 107 yards and a touchdown, complete with a celebratory fist pump.
That performance calmed some nerves in Chicago following reports of Williams' continued inconsistency in training camp while he pored into Johnson's complex offensive system.
Johnson didn't play Williams in the Bears' preseason opener. The former Lions offensive coordinator - the engineer of Detroit's league-leading 33.2 points per game attack last season - later explained that he thought there was more value in the 80-100 additional reps his quarterback collected in practice than if he had played in the Aug. 10 exhibition against the Miami Dolphins.
Williams was finally on display over the weekend, and the initial results dominated headlines.
Both he and Johnson will be drawing more attention against the Chiefs on Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium.