5 big takeaways from Caleb Williams’ preseason debut in Chicago Bears’ win over Buffalo Bills

The Caleb Williams era has begun.

The Chicago Bears' rookie quarterback impressed during his NFL preseason debut Saturday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

The Bears defeated the Buffalo Bills 33-6 in Williams’ debut. The No. 1 overall draft pick played two lengthy possessions for the Bears before calling it a day. The first-team offense didn’t find the end zone, but it did score points on both drives.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from Saturday’s preseason action.

1. Caleb Williams leads 2 scoring drives

Williams’ arm talent was on full display. Both Bears’ possessions quarterbacked by Williams stalled in the red zone and ended in field goals. Even so, there were plenty of reasons to be excited about what Williams showed.

On his first possession, he made an impressive 12-yard throw on a third-and-12 play to receiver DJ Moore just past the stick for a first down. Later, he flipped a short shovel pass to running back D’Andre Swift, and Swift took it for a 42-yard gain.

On his second possession, Williams threw a laser to tight end Cole Kmet along the right sideline. Williams rolled out to his right on the play and made an impressive throw on the run. The play went for 26 yards.

That same possession, Williams took off running on a third-and-9 situation and picked up a 13-yard gain with his legs. The drive ended with an incompletion out of the end zone on third down. Williams probably could’ve connected with rookie receiver Rome Odunze for a touchdown but they weren’t quite on the same page.

“I thought overall, in the pocket, protecting the football, [he] had a consistent performance,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “And now we’ve got to learn from this and get better.”

I thought overall, in the pocket, protecting the football, [he] had a consistent performance. And now we’ve got to learn from this and get better.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Williams played 18 snaps and went 4-for-7 passing for 95 yards, plus had 13 rushing yards. The Bears led 6-0 when Williams exited the game.

2. First-team O-line has solid showing

Despite some questions about the health of its starting unit, the Bears’ starting offensive line fared well on the first two possessions. The first-team unit was without two of its expected starters. Interior linemen Nate Davis and Ryan Bates did not play Saturday.

Instead, the group started Braxton Jones at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton at center, Matt Pryor at right guard and Darnell Wright at right tackle.

The offensive line kept Williams pretty clean throughout the first two possession. Shelton, the center, threw a nice block on Swift’s 42-yard gain after the shovel pass from Williams.

Running back Khalil Herbert had nine touches and ran for 31 yards behind the starting O-line.

3. Velus Jones Jr. scores rushing touchdown

Just days after making a major position change, Bears third-year pro Velus Jones Jr. scored the first touchdown of the game as a running back.

Jones, a third-round draft pick in 2022, played wide receiver the past two seasons but hasn’t had much of an impact on offense. The Bears see him as an elite kick returner, but they’re trying to find other ways to get the ball in his hands.

This week, Eberflus announced that Jones would make a switch from receiver to running back. It’s not a permanent decision, yet, but it could be if it goes well.

Saturday had both highs and lows for Jones at running back. He tripped on one of his early touches, but made up for it later with a 4-yard touchdown run on a pitch from backup QB Tyson Bagent.

The touchdown came midway through the third quarter and extended the Bears’ lead to 13-3.

“I thought it was positive, he did a nice job of really getting north,” Eberflus said. “You can see him really deaden the tackles to fall forward and gain those hidden yards in our favor.”

That was just the start for the Bears’ backup running backs. Ian Wheeler, another reserve running back, later punched in two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

4. First-team defense stands tall in red zone

The Bears’ first-team defense held quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills’ first-team offense to just three points on two possessions Saturday. The Bills had a quick three-and-out on their first possession of the game.

On their second try, the Bills drove 78 yards on 18 plays, but the Bears stood tall in the red zone. Starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who signed a big contract extension over the offseason, broke up a pass in the end zone against Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman.

Allen targeted Coleman, the No. 33 overall draft pick in April, again on the following play. This time, it was cornerback Jaylon Jones with a pass break up in the end zone. The two Jaylons came up big on back-to-back plays to keep Buffalo out of the end zone. Jones was playing in place of injured starters Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson.

5. Micah Baskerville’s pick-six highlights the day

The play of the afternoon, defensively, came from backup linebacker Micah Baskerville. Early in the fourth quarter, Baskerville watched Bills quarterback Shane Buechele drop back to pass. Buechele eyed an underneath throw intended for rookie running back Frank Gore Jr.

Baskerville jumped right in front of Gore and picked off the pass with a clear path to the end zone. He easily scored on a 53-yard return.

The touchdown pretty much cemented a victory for the Bears.

The Bears defense played well no matter who was on the field. The team finished the day with eight total sacks. Rookie defensive end Austin Booker led the way with 2½ sacks, five total tackles and two tackles for loss. Daniel Hardy also had 2½ sacks in the game. Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga led the defense with seven tackles and added one sack.