Williams on “heart-wrenching” loss to Commanders |
WASHINGTON D.C. - Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was two seconds away from his first game-winning drive in the NFL. Two seconds made the difference in the game as that is all the Washington Commanders needed for the game-winning hail mary.
In a game that was billed as being the battle of the No. 1 pick in Williams and the No. 2 pick in Jayden Daniels, Daniels certainly got the final word after Chicago’s defensive disaster. “Obviously, when you have a drive like that to go down and score, and then they have a hail mary like that, it’s tough,” Williams said. “At least myself, I believe in this defense when they go out there and to have a play like that, covered it pretty well, tipped it back to 85 and so, going to keep believing in them as they believe in us multiple times where we just got stalled, shot (ourselves) in the foot and they go out there and before obviously, that last play, was 12 points. So, let’s give them kudos. Obviously, it’s a heart-wrenching play to have. We practice. Trust me, we practice it and sometimes things just don’t go your way. It’s tough when it’s something like that.” The blame does not only fall on the defense. Williams continued his struggles on the road as Chicago fell to 0-3 on the road; they are 4-0 at home this season. He had a career-low completion percentage of 41.7. Chicago’s leading receiver was fellow rookie Rome Odunze, who had three receptions for 41 yards. Receiver Keenan Allen was the most-targeted player with seven targets; DJ Moore was only targeted four times. Despite the dismal numbers and end result, Williams is still encouraged by what he saw on the field today. “Definitely missed a few passes that (I) don’t miss typically and so, tough. But, very encouraging because we stayed in it,” Williams said. “We scored zero points and then we come out the second half and stay in it, get some momentum. So, it’s definitely encouraging. But, we definitely have to be better in that first half, definitely (the) first quarter.” The first quarter was discussed as a point of emphasis coming out of the bye week. However, the offense seemed to regress rather than improve in that regard. For the () game, Chicago did not score any first-quarter points. In fact, they only had 28 yards. On their opening drive, Chicago’s offense lost 10 yards. “We got to be better in the first quarter. That starts with me coming out fast. That starts with us coming out fast,” Williams said. “We keep getting the ball early on. We got a great defense to help us stay in it. But, we got to be better and play complementary football.” It looked like the Bears would get a field goal with under two minutes left in the first half. They had a third and 12 at the Washington 25-yard line. From there, it would have been a 43-yard field goal. However, Williams lost 15 yards on a sack, knocking Chicago out of field goal range. Williams says that is a learning opportunity as he cannot take a sack in that situation in the future. “I knew we were in field goal range and I got to be better. I can’t take a (sack). I got to get the ball in my hands,” Williams said. “I got to throw it out of bounds in that situation and that’s the toughest part about the job is you want to go out there and make plays and do special things, but you also have to understand that’s a play and so, we get those three points and we get some momentum and things like that, get some points (on) the board. It’ll definitely help us in the long run. Definitely helped me in the long run and understanding that situation and being better at it. Definitely going to get better at it.” In a division as tight as the NFC North through the first half of the season, any loss is critical and the Bears could not afford that one. Even if Chicago had been victorious against the Commanders, they would have been tied for last. Now, they are alone in last place as the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers each have six wins, while the Minnesota Vikings are sitting at 5-2. While it is early in the season, their game on Sun. Nov. 3 against the Arizona Cardinals (3:05 p.m./CBS) may be considered a must-win for them if they are to maintain pace in the division and contend for a playoff spot. However, they will need to improve on both sides of the ball if they want to make a playoff run, especially when they still have to face the Lions, Packers, and Vikings twice in the regular season.
