The Chicago Bears had a perfect opportunity to keep their four-game winning streak going. Lamar Jackson wasn't going to play for the Baltimore Ravens, and they were set to face a beatable defense.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. While John Harbaugh's team wasn't as explosive on offense, their ever-struggling defense finally stepped up to get a 30-16 win that wasn't as lopsided for most of the game. If anything, it all came down to a fourth-quarter interception.
Caleb Williams forced the ball to Rome Odunze on 2nd-and-9. Nate Wiggins came down with the ball and set up another Ravens touchdown. Notably, when asked about the play, it became pretty clear that the quarterback and head coach Ben Johnson weren't on the same page.
Ben Johnson And Caleb Williams Share Their Thoughts on Late-Game Interception
"Yeah, I didn't quite see. I would have to check it out on film just one more time," Johnson said, per Moreano. "Just in my mind, there might have been another option that we could have gotten to."
The second-year quarterback, however, didn't feel the same way. If anything, he didn't regret forcing the ball to Odunze, although he admitted it wasn't a good pass, and he believes the Ravens' cornerback just did a good job.
"Yeah, I, uh, it was a good read," Williams said. "Rome man to man with the guy that caught the pick. I just didn't give a good ball to Rome." "[Nate Wiggins] undercut the route and I could have led [Odunze] farther out in front instead of trying to give him a shot right here ... [Wiggins] made a great break on the play," Williams added, per Eli Ong of WGN News. "[It was] just unfortunate where we were on the field in the situation."
Of course, these things are going to happen with young quarterbacks. Williams' decision-making and football IQ have been a talking point dating back to his days in college, and it'll be up to the head coach to make sure he sees those mistakes in film sessions.
Williams hasn't been perfect by any means, and there's clearly plenty of room for improvement, but the early results of this partnership have been encouraging, even despite these miscues. This team is trending in the right direction.