No NFL quarterback in the last decade has had more time to throw than the Bears’ Caleb Williams.
He’s averaging 3.27 seconds between when the ball is snapped and thrown, per NFL Next Gen Stats. About half that time comes after he escapes the initial pressure and uses his legs in a way that makes coach Ben Johnson invoke Harry Houdini.
There’s a lot of time, then, for Williams to think about where he wants to throw the ball. And for coaches, teammates and even fans to scan the field along with him.
Williams’ decisions to scramble sparked two touchdowns in the final four minutes Sunday, when the Bears rallied to beat the Giants, 24-20. There were throws he could have made, though — whether within the confines of Johnson’s offense or off-script — that would have put the game out of reach sooner.
“He made a number of really, really good plays that we needed in the moment,” Johnson said Monday. “And there’s a handful of them that we talked about and, in hindsight, you might play them a little bit different.”
With the help of gameday film, he’s a look at three those throws — two Williams would want back and another that propelled the Bears toward their sixth victory:
No TD for DJ
The Bears faced fourth-and-four at the Giants’ 30 on their first drive. They split three receivers to Williams’ left. Rome Odunze ran a deep hook, Luther Burden a shallow cross and DJ Moore a deep over. Safety Tyler Nubin pushed up to help cover Burden, leaving Moore, who had a step on his man, open by the time his route reached the 10.
Pressure flushed Williams right. He could have thrown the ball to Moore two steps before he reached the numbers painted on the field’s right flank; instead, he launched a pass three steps after he crossed them.
It hit Moore in both hands. But Moore’s momentum carried him out of bounds and he dropped the ball while trying to gather his feet.
Johnson said Williams could have led Moore to his spot without scrambling.
“We felt like we had enough time to hang in the pocket and throw that ball to DJ without breaking contain,” Johnson said.
He talked to Williams about that throw, and others, on Monday. The Bears don’t want to discourage his knack for eluding pressure, but they want him to make things easier on himself.
“It’s a balancing act for him,” Johnson said. “He feels the pressure … He’s got a natural ability to know when to escape and carry on, and that’s not something that we want to take away from his game.”
Backpedaling
With about nine minutes left in the game, the Bears had fourth-and-three at their own 43. They had an empty backfield, with three receivers split left, tight end Cole Kmet in-line on the right and D’Andre Swift split right.
Odunze, who was split tight to the left, actually helped block defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux for a moment before running a shallow cross to the right.
“A couple guys popped [open],” Johnson said.
Williams, though, thought he had a running lane. Rushing from the left, Thibodeaux was conscious of the scramble and doubled back toward the line of scrimmage just as Williams brought his eyes down.
“Caleb, I thought we had him a number of times, where we didn’t get him down and he extended plays,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said Sunday, one day before he was fired.
The quarterback hit the brakes after two steps, He backpedaled for a full five yards, pirouetted left and ran toward the sideline. About halfway between the numbers and the Giants bench, he rifled a pass high and behind Swift, who was running back toward the sideline.
“He felt the pressure, got out of it,” Johnson said. “But we could probably hang in there and deliver that ball down the field.”
The gotta-have-it
On third-and-10 with 5:29 to go, Williams again had an empty backfield, with four pass-catchers left and only Odunze on the right side.
At the snap, star edge rusher Brian Burns rushed toward right tackle Darnell Wright and tried to put a spin move on him, only for Wright to shove him down straight on his back.
“A great instance of how strong he is,” Johnson said.
Williams hung in the pocket before spinning to step away from Thibodeaux. Rolling left, he found rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who had run a curl route and settled down in a soft spot in the zone. When Williams rolled left, Loveland ran left, too, and was wide open between four defenders for a 20-yard gain.
During the Week 5 bye, coaches decided their pass-catchers needed to be more disciplined with how they get open once Williams breaks the pocket. Sunday, Loveland didn’t run himself into defenders when he rolled left with Williams — he stayed open and caught the fastball for 20 yards.
“It was a huge play in the moment,” Johnson said. “And certainly one we needed to keep that drive going.”
It was Williams’ biggest completion of the game.
“Had a bunch of time … ” Williams said. “It was just time to go make a play. Colston, our relationship is building, and he kind of knew where he was in the zone. Just settled down for me and made a great catch and turned it up field.”