Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams opens NFL career with victory and support from Lincoln Riley

CHICAGO – USC coach Lincoln Riley once more took time through the first week of the NFL season to observe the primary game of a rookie quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy in college and was drafted first overall.

Riley, who has mentored three quarterbacks who’ve won the honors, enjoys rooting for his guys.

On Sunday afternoon, Riley watched his newest protégé begin a brand new journey, watching quarterback Caleb Williams lead the Chicago Bears to 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.

Williams, Chicago’s first-round select of USC in April’s NFL draft, didn’t have an ideal debut statistically. In fact, he accomplished just 14 passes on 29 attempts for 93 yards passing — a median of a paltry 3.2 yards per attempt — and no touchdowns. Williams, a productive college runner, had just 15 rushing yards.

“Obviously, we didn’t play the way we wanted to (offensively). We want to be the most efficient team, and so do I. We didn’t play the way I wanted to,” Williams said. “I missed a couple of passes that I don’t normally miss. … I have to be better. I’ll be better.”

Above all, though, point guards are judged on the success of their group. Despite Williams’ rough opening performance, his teammates lifted him up, rallying from a 17-point deficit within the second quarter.

Chicago returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown. The Bears combined for 3 turnovers within the fourth quarter because the Titans faltered, allowing the Bears to go away the sector satisfied despite struggles on offense as Williams tried to search out his way.

“I don’t care about the stats. I feel great (about the win),” Williams said. “The stats aren’t where I want them to be. I want to go out there and play my best. I didn’t do that today. We’re going to be better.”

No matter what additional challenges Williams will face as a rookie – and there will probably be more – he is not going to quit, Riley said.

“With all the attention and everything that’s on him, being the first pick, and being in the city of Chicago, you want someone who’s not going to be afraid of that,” Riley told Andscape. “He definitely won’t do that.”

With Williams on the helm, Riley is confident the Bears can have many great days ahead. And few know Williams higher than the person who coached him for all three of his college seasons.

While Riley was coaching at Oklahoma, he convinced Williams, a former standout at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., to sign with the Sooners. After Riley unexpectedly left Oklahoma to take the identical position at USC in 2022, Williams soon joined the Trojans.

Under Riley’s tutelage, Williams won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. The Bears entered the 2024 NFL Draft with Williams as the highest pick. Now, Williams continues to meet his dream of becoming an NFL superstar and a Super Bowl champion.

Riley is admittedly biased. He has established that, he is definite Williams is headed where he desires to be. How quickly Williams gets there, Riley said, will rely on how quickly he adapts to the trials of playing a very powerful position in top-level football.

“He definitely made progress (from his freshman to his third season), he worked hard and it showed,” said Riley, who leads the nation’s Thirteenth-ranked team.

“And he’d be the primary to let you know that he’s just going to need to proceed to grow, especially as he adjusts to the NFL, and he continues to grow as a player and face different challenges. I mean, teams played him somewhat in a different way last yr than they did the primary few years. You know that is going to proceed to occur. People are all the time going to attempt to evolve the best way they attack.

“They’re not going to just sit there and let you beat them up, game by game, and not try new things. You better be ready to adapt. That’s going to be part of his development. But it’s not going to be a surprise to him. He definitely sees it. And he’s still a student of the game. He’s studying the game and learning. He knows that’s going to be a big part of it. He knows that’s definitely going to be a critical factor in his success. He knows he’s got to continue to be able to move the ball and win games.”

Among college coaches, Riley is unrivaled in his ability to provide star quarterbacks in American football.

While at Oklahoma, he mentored Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, who each won Heisman Trophies and were the highest picks of their draft classes. Additionally, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was a Heisman Trophy finalist while playing for Oklahoma after transferring from Alabama.

In the NFL, Mayfield finished second in AP Rookie of the Year voting. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the primary time last season. AP voters selected Murray because the offensive rookie of the yr, and he’s a two-time Pro Bowl player. Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and finished second in AP Rookie of the Year voting.

At first glance, Williams has loads in common with the opposite members of Riley’s quarterback club. But upon closer inspection, Williams is entering the NFL a bit in a different way than his predecessors, who were conductors in Riley’s system.

“One thing is he just played a lot less football than the other guys,” Riley said. “Those guys were older at the tip of their (college) careers. All those guys could have played full highschool careers. Caleb missed his senior yr due to COVID.

“These guys were a little further along. They’ve just seen more, experienced a little more, played a little more. And when you play the ball a little more, you see more from a talent perspective. But he’s right up there with any of them in terms of his ability. He’s a really special talent.”

While he’s not one to make specific predictions about how Williams will fare within the league, Riley is confident the Bears will proceed to get one of the best out of Williams every day.

“He keeps asking himself what can I do better to be better next time. Then he puts in the work to be better,” Riley said. “If they (Bears) can put the right players around him and really get him settled, he’ll start to improve.”

And Riley would love to search out some TV time to observe it.