Bear Digest

Former first-round QB nails assessment of Caleb Williams, Bears in Week 2

The Chicago Bears were embarrassed by the Detroit Lions in Week 2, but blame shouldn't be on Caleb Williams, says this former NFL QB.
Bryan Perez|
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The Chicago Bears got humiliated by the Detroit Lions in Week 2's 52-21 blowout loss at Ford Field. And while it's been easy to point fingers at Caleb Williams' slower-than-expected development at quarterback, the reality is this week's loss had nothing to do with his level of play.

Williams finished Sunday's loss completing 19-of-30 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Yes, his interception was the result of a poor decision. But he played an otherwise clean and effective game that should score well inside Halas Hall.

What Williams couldn't do, unfortunately, was take the field on defense and help prevent Jared Goff from throwing the five touchdowns he put on the scoreboard. He couldn't lend a hand in tackling Jahmy Gibbs, who ran for 94 yards and a touchdown, or David Montgomery, who added 57 yards and a score.

Get the point?

If not, former first-round QB Robert Griffin III took to social media to lay out the case for Williams in even more detail.

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has some explaining to do.

Chicago's pass rush was non-existent. The defense would eventually lose starters Jaylon Johnson and TJ Edwards, both of whom re-aggravated their pre-existing injuries (Johnson hurt his groin while Edwards' hamstring acted up). It doesn't seem like the defense will get any better anytime soon.

But the biggest takeaway is arguably the most important for the 2025 NFL season: Caleb Williams is not the reason why the Bears are 0-2. The defense choked in the second half of Week 1, and they failed to show up at all against the Lions.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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