Bear Digest

Game manager or not Caleb Williams can live with wins like this

With 47 running plays, the Bears dominated on the ground and QB Caleb Williams doesn't mind seeing it when the backs find openings like in a 24-15 win over Philadelphia.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams celebrates a key statement victory by the Bears over the Eagles, 24-15.
Caleb Williams celebrates a key statement victory by the Bears over the Eagles, 24-15. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams game manager doesn't sound bad if the Bears keep giving him a game to manage like they did Friday at Philadelphia.

The 281 yards rushing by the Bears and two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 1985 is the kind of thing a team can use to go late into the playoffs. It's not the wild passing game like they played against Cincinnati or Dallas earlier but it's going to win games in the long run just like it did 24-15 against the Eagles.

So no one really cares that Williams was looking more like Bill Wade, running 3-yard quarterback sneaks the proper way, without the aid of having his rear end pushed, and just handed off a lot.

The Eagles were punching bags for the Bears' running attack.

"Can't say enough about that running game," coach Ben Johnson told reporters afterward. "I don't think we win that game if we're not able to run the ball like we were. Both of our backs both of the backs over 100 yards was just outstanding. You could feel decisiveness, you could feel them hitting downhill.

"They turned on the gas and they were lowering their shoulders too."

The line, with Ozzy Trapilo at left tackle instead of Theo Benedet, hit the Eagles with a full array of wide zone, inside zone and gap blocking schemes on runs wide or cut back inside. With Trapilo, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright moving back Jalen Carter and the line that won a Super Bowl, it was giving both D'Andre Swift (125 yards) and Kyle Monangai (130 yards) the kind of room untouched that they needed to survey the wide open spaces and determine where to go.

"It's awesome to see, from my point of view," William said, mindful that in future games he might see safeties coming down to stop the run more and open up the passing attack for big plays. So having that provides a lot of confidence with the coaching, I know it provides a lot of confidence within the O-line, within the running backs, especially that they can do everything that we need to win for us.

"When it comes time for us to pass, we can do it. We did that today but when it came down to it we put the ball in the running backs' hands and they were electric for us."

Even the touchdown that put it out of reach was supposed to be a running back's play. That was the 28-yard TD pass from Williams to Cole Kmet. Williams was supposed to go to D'Andre Swift but saw Kmet flash open in the end zone downfield just before seeing extra coverage shifting over to his running back. So he let it fly in a chancy wind.

"That's the fun part about playing quarterback," Williams said. "It's dealing with the conditions and then finding ways to kind of calculate where you need to put the ball, how much air, especially when you have such weird gusts like we had today."

So Williams decided against checking down to his back like he'd usually not want to do, anyway. He went for the dagger and got it.

It worked out.

No one thinks you would need to win games by running for 281 yards all the time and the Bears have plenty of passing yards in this season to make Williams confident they can get those again if they need to do it.

Johnson saw his team's 47 running attempts on the day and Williams' 36 passes and decided even more running might be a good thing if the result is going to continue to be like this.

"I looked down and I see 36 (pass) attempts and I'm going 'Shoot, I probably called too many pass plays in this game, especially with the way we're running it."

Instead, they left Philadelphia knowing they hadn't even approached their full capability and had won against the world champions.

"We haven't hit our pinnacle yet in this sense of a team and execution on offense," Williams said. "But we're still winning these games and so that's really important. So that's why I'm extremely excited."

Maybe he'd be a tiny bit more excited with a few more completions, but look at it this way:

He completed a lot of handoffs to spark the win.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.