CHICAGO — Caleb Williams continued his improvement with a breakout game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, as the Chicago Bears used a first-half offensive blitz to cruise to an easy victory Sunday.
Caleb Williams had his best game as a pro quarterback, finishing 20/29 for 304 yards, 2 passing touchdowns (Both to DJ Moore) and zero turnovers, while the Bears defense forced three turnovers of their own in a 26-point win.
Here’s how the game unfolded.
Game Recap
After going three-and-out in their first drive of the day, Chicago’s offense put the ball in the end zone on four out of their next five possessions.
Their first touchdown of the day came on a 34-yard pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore to answer a 38-yard touchdown run from Chubba Hubbard that tied the game at 7-7.
After a Jaquan Brisker hit on Tommy Tremble forced a fumble that was recovered by Gervon Dexter Sr, Roschon Johnson punched in a 1-yard run for a touchdown at the end of a 13-play, 80 yard drive that chewed up six minutes and 27 seconds of clock to take the lead, 14-7.
Near the 2-minute mark in the second quarter, Williams found D’Andre Swift on a 42-yard screen pass that brought them down to the 2-yard line, before Doug Kramer led the way for a Swift rushing TD at the goal line to extend Chicago’s lead to 21-7.
Swift put together his second consecutive impressive performance, racking up 120 total yards from scrimmage to go with the rushing touchdown.
After the Bears’ defense forced a quick turnover on downs from Carolina, Williams found Moore again, this time for 30 yards with 24 seconds left in the first half. Kicker Cairo Santos missed the extra point, but Chicago carried a 27-7 lead into halftime.
Moore finished with 5 catches for 105 yards and 2 receiving TD’s.
The game slowed down in the second half.
Kevin Byard III picked off Andy Dalton, Panthers’ kicker Eddie Pineiro missed a field goal, and Tremaine Edmunds forced another fumble recovered by Chicago, as both teams traded a field goal before the Bears punched in the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.
Just like he did earlier for Swift, Kramer served as the battering ram for that touchdown as Johnson punched in his second rushing TD of the day with 4:23 to go in the fourth quarter, and the Bears went on to beat Carolina, 36-10.
No. 1 Overall Pick Living Up to the Hype
With his performance in Chicago’s 36-10 win over the Panthers, Caleb Williams became the first Bears QB to throw for more than 300 yards multiple times in his rookie season in the modern era (1933-Present).
Williams and the Bears still have 12 games to go this season.
Injury Tent
Chicago’s starting left guard Teven Jenkins was ruled questionable to return after being taken out of the game coming out of the halftime break.
Tremble was taken out of the game and evaluated for a concussion after the violent hit that led to a Bears fumble recovery in the first half.
Up Next
The Chicago Bears take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in London Next Sunday at 9:30 a.m. CT.