Caleb Williams’ dud debut actually highlights best thing for Bears rookie

Over a year ago, NFL scouts and experts began drooling over the thought of landing the USC superstar quarterback Caleb Williams when he entered the 2024 NFL Draft.

Williams was an incredible college prospect. He had the arm talent and mobility that weren't seen very often in such young signal callers. Williams was also an impressive leader with the intangibles that scouts are also big fans of. There wasn't much that Williams couldn't do.

So when the Chicago Bears landed the first overall pick -- thanks to the previous draft's trade with Carolina -- in the "Caleb Williams Draft", they didn't hesitate to trade Justin Fields away and hand Williams the keys to the franchise. The front office worked tirelessly to put together the best possible roster for Williams. They loaded up the defense, the skill positions and the offensive line in hopes that Williams could come in and win with the Bears right away.

In Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans, Caleb Williams did exactly what the franchise wanted from him: he won.

Caleb Williams puts together a dud debut in the Bears Week 1 win

The Bears' Week 1 matchup with the Titans didn't look good for a while. Chicago trailed for most of the game before the defense took over and won the game for the Bears.

Williams didn't have a great game in his debut. In fact, he flopped pretty hard. He finished the game 14-for-29 on his throws for 93 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran the ball five times for 15 yards in the win while taking two sacks for a total loss of 29 yards.

To put that in perspective, Justin Fields, the QB that Chicago gave up on, was 17 for 23 for 156 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while running 14 times for 57 yards in the Pittsburgh Steelers win.

But the Bears don't need Caleb Williams to be better than Fields or anybody else for that matter. He didn't play like Superman as many people expected him to play in his debut. But the Bears won. Chicago doesn't need Williams to play like Superman. That's exactly why they spent so much time, effort and money in upgrading the rest of their roster.

Don't get me wrong though: Williams is going to be a good quarterback. He won't end up being a game manager who wins games on the backs of the defense. Williams is an elite talent and we will see that this season. But the point is he doesn't need to be a superhero for the Bears to win games as a rookie, which may be the best thing for him long-term.