Bear Digest

Caleb Williams headlines Bears' duds in Week 7 victory over Saints

The Chicago Bears notched their fourth consecutive win despite being hindered by exhausting quarterback play.
Pete Martuneac|
David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Fans who wanted to see Caleb Williams take another step forward on Sunday after his signature Week 6 victory over the Commanders were left disappointed. Williams registered arguably his worst game of the season, finishing the day with zero touchdowns, an interception, and less than 200 passing yards for the first time since last year.

Thankfully, the Bears' running game and defense came to play as they carried Chicago to a dominant Week 7 win over the Saints. It's far easier to learn from mistakes and grow as a player when your team still gets the victory and continues to move up the standings, especially when you've now hit four straight wins.

The whole team can celebrate a well-earned 'W', but three players in particular must take a long, hard look in the mirror before their Week 8 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

1. Caleb Williams

As aforementioned, Williams was downright awful on Sunday. He looked like his rookie self, holding the ball too long, missing open receivers, and just generally incapable of running the offense. Sure, untimely penalties and a few bad snaps from his center (more on that later) didn't help him out, but there's no excusing that performance. Williams needs to be better, and I believe he will be.

2. Drew Dalman

Back in training camp, there were several days when Chicago beat writers reported problems with Dalman snapping the ball to Williams. So far through the season their exchange has been fine, but Sunday's game went completely off the rails right from the jump. Dalman's first errant snap nearly turned into a fumble and his second robbed Chicago of a 3rd-and-goal opportunity when the score was still tied at zero.

Good teams won't let the Bears get away with this, so Dalman and Williams need to clean this up ASAP.

3. Rome Odunze

As Odunze continues his own career development alongside Williams, one area he needs to get better at is contested catches. This is an odd problem for Odunze; tough catches in traffic were his bread and butter in college. In the NFL, however, he too easily allows defensive backs to jar the ball loose. He had a couple drops in Sunday's game, including a critical 2nd-and-long that could have kept the chains moving but ended up with another punt.

Rome Odunz
David Banks-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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