Iron sharpens iron, but it doesn’t sharpen paper.
That has been the unfortunate reality for the Bears’ offense in recent years, whether it be Khalil Mack & Co. dominating Mitch Trubisky or Eddie Jackson & Co. taking it to Justin Fields.
In both cases, the age-old training camp narrative that it was the defense making the offense look bad ended up being more like the opposite — the mediocre-at-best offense was making the defense look good. And it never ended well.
But maybe not this time. While it was only a preseason game, you didn’t have to watch the tape to see evidence that Caleb Williams was a different animal than Fields and Trubisky. He made plays they don’t. And didn’t make mistakes they did.
But in an encouraging performance in his NFL debut against the Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Saturday, the Bears’ rookie quarterback also lent credence to the idea that iron indeed might be sharpening iron here.
Williams and the Bears’ offense were coming off two uninspiring practices last week. Even against a defense missing five starters, Williams and the offense was notably clunky in 11-on-11 drills.
Usually, when the defense wins the day, the offense comes up with some splash play downfield against the ever-confident secondary — Williams to DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet or Tyler Scott — to cling to as a sign of progress. But the offense didn’t even get that on Wednesday or Thursday.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron accentuated the positive after Wednesday’s practice — noting that running backs D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer had “explosive plays” — even though backs aren’t tackled in practice, and those downfield passing plays that missed in practice eventually will happen in games “as the offense grows.”
That rang hollow to those who have heard similar explanations for unimpressive offensive performances before. But it sounds a little more plausible today after Williams averaged 13.6 yards per attempt (4 for 7, 95 yards) in two series against the Bills and showed glimpses of the rare qualities that give him the potential to become an elite NFL quarterback.
Williams’ 26-yard pass to tight end Cole Kmet that showed off Williams’ mobility and arm strength was the highlight play of the day. Williams rolling to his right, passed up an easy throw to Nsimba Webster for a five-yard gain to throw a laser downfield on the run that hit Kmet between the eight and the five.
“Oh, man. That’s what he does,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “All of us on the sidelines saw [Webster] come open. We were like, ‘Throw it. Take the five.’ But that’s him. He saw the play develop before we did. That’s something he does on the regular [in practice], so I’m excited that everybody else got to see it.”
But Williams’ short pass to running back D’Andre Swift for a 42-yard gain on the previous drive might have been just as telling. Williams was quickly surrounded in the backfield and shot-putted a two-yard pass to Swift, who quickly broke free for the big gain.
That kind of quick-thinking inventive throw under duress is just as much of the upgrade the Bears were looking for when they took Williams with the first overall pick of the draft.
Last year in his first preseason game, Justin Fields turned short passes to DJ Moore and Khalil Herbert into touchdowns of 62 and 56 yards. It elicited a lot of excitement and rightfully so — both were well-executed plays that Bears offenses are not known for.
But skeptics noted that because Fields only threw the ball three yards to Moore and 10 to Herbert, those big plays said more about the offense than the quarterback — a fair criticism. But on a similar screen pass from Williams to Swift on Saturday, nobody was griping about the air yards. The play — and the quarterback’s role in its success — passed the eye test.
“I’m not gonna lie — that boy’s special,” Odunze said when asked about Williams’ demeanor in his first NFL game. “He was loud. His pronunciations of the play call was perfect. He was very calm, collected back there. Very poised. Making plays when he needed with his feet. Making plays with his tremendous arm talent. He looked great, I thought.”
One play that didn’t get as much attention was noteworthy. On third-and-six at the Bears’ 7-yard line, Williams threw a pass for Odunze near the right sideline at the 20 that Bills safety Cam Lewis nearly intercepted.
But lo and behold, an illegal contact penalty nullified the play. The referee called it on Lewis; the official gamebook gave it to linebacker Dorian Williams. Whatever, instead of punting from their own end zone, the Bears had a first down at the 12.
And the Williams-led Bears responded to that opportunity — a pass to Moore for 15 yards; a Herbert rush for 14; then the 26-yard pass to Kmet and the Bears quickly were at the Bills’ 33.
There’s something about good fortune, good timing and the fairy-dust aura of NFL quarterbacks. Some guys got it. And some guys don’t.
Williams’ debut was one small step. But nothing that happened against the Bills refuted the notion that he might be one of those guys who’s got it.