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Caleb Williams isn’t worried after disappointing Week 1 performance

Matt Hanifan / NFL / September 10, 2024

<a rel= — Despite a 24-17 Bears win, No. 1 pick Caleb Williams had a very poor Week 1 performance. (Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images)

Caleb Williams isn’t worried after disappointing Week 1 performance

It was a rough Week 1 for rookie quarterbacks. It was even rougher for No. 1 pick Caleb Williams.

He completed 14 of his 29 passes for 93 yards, joining Randy Hedberg, Will Cureton and Desmond Ridder as the only quarterbacks in NFL History to attempt at least 25 passes and throw for less than 100 yards in their first career start.

The Chicago Bears were still able to crawl back from a 17-point deficit with two non-defensive touchdowns, including a eventual-game-winning pick-six for a 24-17 win. Regardless of his disappointing performance, Williams wasn’t fazed after the game.

“Yeah, I don’t care about stats. I feel great,” he said, according to NFL.com’s Eric Edholm. “To be honest with you, I feel great.”

A silver lining is that Williams was the first No. 1 pick to secure a season-opening start behind center since David Carr in 2002; according to Stathead, only four No. 1 picks (who started) have won Week 1 of their rookie season–the other three being Jim Plunkett (1971) and John Elway (1983).

“Obviously, we didn’t perform how we wanted to (offensively),” Williams said. “We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. Didn’t perform the way I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don’t miss. All these other things.”

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 2

The offense couldn’t get flowing the entire game. The offense registered just 177 yards of offense on 53 plays–a dispiriting 3.3 yards per play. Amongst 32 quarterbacks, Williams was No. 15 in expected completion percentage, No. 29 in EPA/play and success rate and No. 30 in adjusted EPA/play and last in completion percentage above expectation.

There’s typically an adjustment period for rookie quarterbacks after Week 1. Williams will have Houston, Indianapolis, the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars for his next five games, which isn’t a detrimental slate. I expect he will figure it out, but he also isn’t in a position where he can be much worse going forward.

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