caleb williams played for Chicago Bears Sunday. He didn’t play well through three quarters, but that’s another data point from his rookie season.

It might be easy to forget about Williams because — understandably — we’ve spent much of the last 48 hours talking about Hail Marys, penultimate plays and signings among offensive linemen.

(And passing through all-22 angles 18-15 defeat to Washington CommandersI spent a lot of time watching and rewatching as I focused on Williams and her passing game Hail Mary. It’s surprising how much goes wrong.)

Williams got off to a poor start, completing only four of his first 16 passes. He completed a 33-yard pass in the first half. He finished strong. In the fourth quarter, Williams completed 6-of-11 passes for 95 yards, 0.35 EPA per pass (expected points added) and four first-down pass rushes.

The Bears went 2-for-12 on third down. Williams completed just 2 of 7 passes on the third pass. His accuracy was off. There seemed to be a few miscommunications with buyers. And the pressure definitely took its toll on him. According to TruMedia, the Commanders converted 41.9 percent of Williams’ returns, their highest percentage of the season against the rookie QB.

Let’s look back at a few of those key misses and finish with a few key plays from Williams after Sunday’s loss, with the help of the All-22 camera angle. (All screenshots courtesy of NFL Pro.)

Lacking the usual sensitivity

4-6. In weeks, Williams completed 74 percent of his passes. This is the hallmark of his skill set. But he wasn’t there on Sunday.

“I definitely missed a few passes that I usually don’t miss and that’s why it’s so difficult,” he said after the game.

On third-and-10 from the Washington 41 in the first quarter, Williams made his first read – a breakout to the tight end Gerald Everett. The shot was high and out of reach for Everett.

Now, I don’t know if Everett was running the correct depth on his route or if the timing was off. I’d say this wouldn’t have gotten the first down even if it was completed, but it might have either gotten the Bears close enough to field goal range or given them the opportunity to get a fourth down.

washington He was keeping a close eye on three Bears receivers. Coach Dan Quinn pulled off an exotic trick with his defenders, but Williams wasn’t under pressure. This would be an example of Matt Eberflus talking about the quarterback’s inability to make post-play progress.

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Early on this drive, Williams ran his reads that set up two open receivers. He pumped his way out Keenan Allen. It took the Commanders’ linebacker Frankie Luvu bite and tight end Cole Kmet and wide receiver Rome Odunze Both were open.

Williams saw it, but his shot to Odunze was off target and behind the rookie. Again, it’s unclear whether Odunze thought he should have stopped his route earlier, but either way, it would have been a big win.

Backed up inside the 10-yard line in the third quarter, the Bears went on third-and-7. Allen moves before stepping up the left sideline.

Williams goes for it but either throws it off the back shoulder or waits for Allen to move toward the sideline.

The back shoulder was there but the two seemed to disagree. If you watch the game you will see a very frustrated situation. DJ MooreIt looked like the commanders wanted a flag thrown at the cornerback Benjamin St. Juste to keep.

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Early in the fourth quarter, after back-to-back failed screen attempts, Williams releases it on third-and-10. Odunze moves inside but the shot goes to the sideline and his outside shoulder. It’s out of reach.

Williams got hit on this play — guard Teven Jenkins Rookie suffered injury during defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton He knocks him down and the shot eventually goes to Williams. But the Bears otherwise did well against the Commanders’ attack. Roschon Johnson You did a really nice job collecting it. Bobby Wagner (No. 54). Coleman Shelton He lifted Luvu (No. 4) and the interceptions sent cornerbacks behind Williams, who was more than comfortable staying in the pocket.

It’s an “easy for me to say from the comfort of my desk chair” moment: Did Williams have more time to look at Moore’s breakout route? Or Allen? So, was there a lack of communication between him and Odunze?

There’s also a question here about play calling. The Bears were at the 41-yard line. This was the best field position they had and matched the previous drive. D’Andre Swift He scored. Was there an opportunity for a shorter route to create a manageable fourth descent?

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Washington brought the heat

Frankly, Quinn watched the last three games and decided to throw a lot at Williams, who had a 41.9 percent blitz rate. He had his second-worst EPA per pass of the season (-0.23).

left struggle braxton jones‘ Injury didn’t help, pushed the rookie Kiran Amegadjie entered the squad for the first time NFL He enters the offensive line.

Three plays stood out in terms of pressure, which made things difficult for the Bears’ passing game. We start with 1:11 left until the end of the second quarter.

The problems start before the rupture. When Jenkins turns to look at him, Williams claps, his hands in the air as if he doesn’t know what the call is. Johnson is also looking for clarity at the running back spot.

It’s third-and-12 from the Washington 25-yard line. The Bears still have two timeouts remaining. At least they are in shooting range to reduce the gap to 9-3. Why not take a break when you feel the confusion? This is for Williams, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and Eberflus.

Instead, the ball is lifted because the group is not ready. Luvu (No. 4) runs towards Amegadjie and Johnson is late to help as Luvu beats the rookie on the edge. Johnson started the game watching the flurries inside before turning to Luvu.

No one is clear when Williams reaches the peak of her decline. He looks to the left, where Moore is bracketed. Maybe the play could have been a set-up shot to Odunze and a return route to Williams’ backside, but that would have been a difficult shot.

The rookie QB made the problem worse by trying to run away, taking a 15-yard sack and kicking the team out of field goal range.

“I’ve got to get better. “I’ve got to get the ball out of my hands,” Williams said. “In that situation, I have to go out of bounds and that’s the hardest part; “You want to go out there and make plays and do special things, but you also have to understand that it’s a game… we understand those things. “If we get three points, we’ll have some momentum.”

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Remember third down from the Bears’ 7-yard line? A second miss set this up. Commanders only ran four but number 99 Clelin Ferrell I wandered around Amegadjie. Williams had an opportunity to move to his right and attempted to do so, but Ferrell pursued him and forced an incompletion as Williams was dragged to the ground.

It was interesting that, deep in their own territory, the Bears sent out both a Speedy and a tight end Marcedes Lewis He chose not to assist Amegadjie on the routes in this game.

Later in the third quarter, back-to-back penalties turned a third-and-2 at midfield into third-and-12. Allen took a step towards his man, but the shot was out of reach.

It would have been impressive if Williams had hit Allen there for an explosive gain, but this is a play we’ve seen him make before. It probably didn’t help that he was about to get hit – or at least he felt the pressure.

Washington only sent four, but the defensive end Dorance Armstrong He was able to get between Amegadjie and Jenkins on his way to the quarterback.

optimistic view

One of the things Kmet emphasized after the game was that the Bears came from two points down in the final quarter to take the lead in a must-win game.

This doesn’t usually happen around here.

With just under nine minutes remaining, Williams hit Kmet from 14 yards and then nailed a nice field goal. Deep ball to Moore. for 27 yards and a sidearm pass. DeAndre Carter If Waldron had called anything other than what he did, it should have led to a touchdown – a pass to Doug Kramer.

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On the next drive, completions of 16 yards to Odunze and 22 yards to Allen got the Bears into the red zone.

Odunze set off without interrupting his route, moving towards the middle of the field and easily creating separation.

Armstrong burst in with right guard Matt Pryor and Williams did a good job of sliding to his right to create the shooting lane. Amegadjie was discussed Dante Fowler Jr.He is also in a hurry.

There’s one more play to highlight and we step back in time to the second quarter; One of the positive moments in terms of offense in the first half and the third half. It was third-and-5 and Odunze started the play before heading toward the sideline. His route running was impressive and he clearly fooled his corner.

Lightning acquisition was also very important. Johnson did a great job against Wagner. Shelton took Luvu down. Amegadjie also prevented Fowler from approaching Williams. This allowed Williams to allow Odunze to run his route and then take the first down.

These are promising things ahead of a matchup Arizona Cardinals. A few notes about the Week 9 opponent:
• The Cardinals rank 27th in the league in sacks per pass.
• Their third-down defense ranks 32nd.
• Opponents are averaging 7.63 yards per pass. It ranks 29th.
• Opposing quarterbacks had a 101.4 passer rating (27th) against Arizona and completed 71.7 percent of their passes (30th).
• According to Pro Football focus, Arizona’s pressure rating ranks 30th.

What better way for Williams and the Bears to get back on track? Yes, the Commanders have similar stats, but they are much better at sacking the quarterback. It will be a great opportunity for Williams to be the one to get the Bears out of this mess.

(Top photo: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)