Caleb Williams feels good but isn't satisfied after strong NFL debut

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a fantastic debut performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL preseason. It was so good, in fact, that he earned high marks for his two series of action.

The Bears won 33-6, with six of those points coming at the end of Williams' drives.

"It felt good," Williams said after the game. "There's always a little bit more of a focus you have going into games for whatever reason, even if you try and enter that mindset and things like that throughout the weeks. It's just a sense of control, a sense of progress, a bunch of different things that when you get into games, the comfort level and all of that normally skyrockets."

Williams finished the game 4-of-7 for 95 yards and added 13 yards on the ground. During his limited action, he was equal parts prototype quarterback and off-script magician. His numbers would've been even more impressive had Cole Kmet and DJ Moore not had one drop each.

Caleb Williams had two highlight moments, including a Patrick Mahomes-like no-look screen pass to running back D'Andre Swift. Williams pushed back against the no-look claim, but the tape suggests he's being a bit humble.

"I did see [Swift]," Williams said. "It wasn't a no-look. I wish I could claim it was, but it wasn't. … So I saw it open and I could feel the defenders breaking through the line, which they should on a screen. So [the] offensive line did a great job making it seem believable that they were gonna let up a sack. Then [I] tossed it over the [defender's] head and we got around 40 yards or so, so it was great."

Williams showed the world why he was the first overall pick on his 26-yard strike to Cole Kmet. It was another Mahomes/Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers moment from the former Heisman Trophy winner.

"We've been repping this play for a while now," Williams said, "and just getting those reps in has been key. You come out on gameday and the seas part, and Cole is running down the sideline. My job is just to get him the ball in space and let our players like Cole and them do their magic. … Cole did a great job selling it and breaking it to the corner."

Sure, Kmet did his part. But let's be real: that completion doesn't happen with 99% of the NFL's other quarterbacks attempting the pass. Williams is special. And, yes, one throw can prove it. His completion to Kmet did.

But like any special talent, Caleb Williams knows his success against the Bills is just one step in a much longer NFL journey.

"When we get in early tomorrow, we take a step back, we go through the tape and then onto the next preseason [game]," he said. "You take it from there, and you keep growing, you keep growing, you keep growing, and then we just keep counting those days, counting those hours and getting after it."