Caleb Williams grasping the concept of 'NFL-open' windows

Caleb Williams wasn’t asked to throw the ball a lot in the Chicago Bears‘ 24-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field on Sunday. His 23 pass attempts were the least amount in his first four games in the NFL.

The rookie quarterback completed 17 passes for 157 yards, connecting with DJ Moore on a 9-yard touchdown. Moore was lined up against linebacker Christian Rozeboom, and the veteran receiver ran a stick nod route, getting behind the Rams’ defender.

Williams initially looked left in the direction of Rome Odunze and Gerald Everett but continued through his progression until he saw Moore in the middle of the field. With the pocket collapsing around him, Caleb Williams threw a perfect pass to start the second half with points.

That is what you call “NFL open”. The defender’s back was to the quarterback and it took a precise throw to execute the play. And with Caleb Williams understanding what those windows look like in the NFL, it opens up what the offense can do.

“I think it’s great,” Cole Kmet said on Monday. “And I think he’s gotten better and better at that, as really since the start of training camp. Him recognizing, I think he’s seeing things quicker now. He’s always done a good job of diagnosing the defense, but I think at first it maybe took him a few extra seconds to really see what was happening. I think he’s seeing it a little bit quicker now, recognizing that stuff. He has a good understanding, he knows what he’s doing.

“Like the throw to DJ — they got a safety and he looks to the left to kind of keep the safety tucked over to the left a little bit, knowing that DJ’s one-on-one with a linebacker, and he knows that matchup, you’re going to take that all day. He did a really good job with that. What I’ve been impressed with, all the great stuff that he’s done obviously in college and all the crazy plays I’m sure he made throughout his college career, he’s doing a good job of taking what the defense was giving him the other day and to do that in your fourth game is really, really impressive.”

Kmet also was impressed with the throw Williams made to him on the following offensive drive. On second-and-10 at the Chicago 42-yard line, the Bears went with their no-huddle offense. Williams lined up in the shotgun and faked the handoff to D’Andre Swift, which made Rams linebacker Troy Reeder take a few steps forward before he eventually dropped back in coverage. Kmet lined up to the right of Darnell Wright and ran down the middle of the field. Williams saw his tight end get behind Reeder and threw a dart to his teammate.

“Just a true NFL throw,” Kmet said. “Throw and catch right there. They step up just enough for him to get the ball over. And that’s considered open in this league and a play you have to make. He made it. It’s really cool to see that type of throw, the type of throw was also really awesome. Just all day he was super efficient and did a really good job of taking care of the football. When you do that and you have our defense playing the way they’re playing and our [special teams] unit playing the way they’re playing, it plays in well to our team and you’re going to win a lot of football games if we keep doing that.”

Since Week 1, Williams has shown progress as a quarterback with different aspects of his game. Against the Rams he displayed his ability to make some tight window throws. As Williams and the offense continue to grow throughout the 2024 season, those opportunities will become more available.

As the saying goes, “There’s no perfect defense for a perfect throw.” And Caleb Williams is starting to make those types of throws.

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