Williams says he had to get Eberflus back on the sideline during Hail Mary |
CHICAGO—Numerous things could have gone better for Chicago in their 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders on Washington’s successful hail mary. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams helped deter one other thing from going wrong on that play, as head coach Matt Eberflus was on the verge of getting penalized by the officials on that play.
“I was trying to get Coach Flus back on the sideline because I think the ref was (going to) throw a flag because the (refs) were right there saying they were (going to) throw a flag,” Williams said. “So, I just didn’t want to give them a free extra couple (of) yards to be able to help their range.” Despite the fact that Williams got his team in a winning position in the final minute of the game and gave the Bears a three-point lead, he was incredibly critical of his performance. The offense failed to put up any points in the first half. In fact, Chicago did not score until under a minute was left in the third quarter. “First half, (I) didn’t play necessarily the way I wanted to. I think the ability to snap and start getting things going late in the game being down that much and having so many negative drives or stalled drives (I) think is a positive,” Williams said. “Obviously, we have to start fast. We have to figure out ways to do that. We have to figure out ways to maintain and keep that going throughout four quarters or how many ever plays, drives, whatever you need to win games and that’s a big part of me.” For many fans, it feels like the sky is falling once again for the Bears. The offensive line has not looked good and now most of them are injured. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made headlines all over the league for his conduct on the hail mary that cost Chicago the game. However, Williams does not see it that way as he said they are focused on what is going on inside the organization. “Everything’s exploding on the outside. We have to control what we can control, control (everything) interior in here and we got to focus on going out here and winning this game that we have now,” Williams said. “We had our 24-hour period to feel how we felt. But, we got to move on.” From the start of the season, Chicago has branded itself as a player-led team. Williams said he learned early on in his career that great teams are led by the players, and that is exactly what he is doing with the Bears. “I think something that I go by myself is okay teams (nobody) leads. Good teams, coaches lead and then the great teams, the players lead. So, we have to find ways to be better for ourselves. There’s plays in that game where we have to execute whether my drop is wrong, whether the route depth is wrong, whether the hand placement and your helmet isn’t across the defender’s chest so we can get him moving and then cut up,” Williams said. “So, there’s a lot of things that I think players first and foremost can correct. You always have to look at yourself before you start pointing fingers or doing anything like that and make sure you’re doing things right. So, I think it starts there and then from there, we’re going to keep having communication. We’re going to keep getting better between (the) coaches and us players. That’s the point in football is to keep getting better. It’s a long season and we have to keep growing.”
