Caleb Williams

C.J. Stroud may be in just his second season in the NFL, but he is an established superstar and one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

There are far worse people for a rookie signal-caller to receive advice from, and that is exactly what happened for Caleb Williams after Stroud's Houston Texans defeated his Chicago Bears on Sunday.

"Stop taking those hits," Stroud told Williams after the game. "Learn from those mistakes. Everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro. You're going to be a hell of a player in this league."

Chicago's defense played well enough to win in the 19-13 loss, but the offensive line's complete failure to protect Williams was the major storyline. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft was sacked seven times and hit 11 times.

Kevin Patra of NFL.com noted Next Gen Stats revealed Chicago's five starting offensive linemen alone gave up 28 quarterback pressures, which is completely unsustainable with a rookie quarterback making his second career start against a potential Super Bowl contender.

"I'm a little bruised up," Williams told reporters. "I took a couple hits today. I'm going to get in ice tubs and do all the things I need to do to make sure my body is ready for tomorrow and practice other the other days and obviously next game."

The pressure got to him as the game progressed, as he started 12-of-15 for 91 yards and a 91.9 passer rating before halftime but went 11-of-22 for 83 yards, two interceptions and a 21.6 rating in the second half, per Patra.

Chicago didn't do him many favors either, as there were multiple false starts out of timeouts and two poor challenges from head coach Matt Eberflus that cost the visitors timeouts. Running back D'Andre Swift also finished with 18 yards on 14 carries and struggled to find holes behind the same porous offensive line.

Stroud was something of a best-case scenario for a rookie quarterback, as he won Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the Texans to an AFC South crown. He also won a playoff game.

Chicago surely envisioned something similar when it paired Williams with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Swift, but its offensive line will have to take drastic strides as the season progresses to make that a reality.

Amid protection issues for Caleb Williams through the first two games, Chicago Bears right guard Nate Davis is being put in the spotlight for his lack of involvement at practice.

On the latest episode of the Scoop City podcast (starts 42:00 mark), The Athletic's Adam Hoge noted the interior of the Bears are "frustrated" with Davis "not practicing" to the point the team was hoping to replace him with free-agent signee Ryan Bates before Bates suffered a shoulder injury:

"Since training camp started, it's been a disaster. Nate Davis is probably not a huge national story, but locally, it's been a big story for the last two years. He doesn't like to practice. The Bears are frustrated with him not practicing. And I think he was going to lose that starting job at right guard to Ryan Bates, but Ryan Bates got hurt. And last week, actually, Ryan Bates out-snapped Nate Davis in the opener in a rotation, but then Ryan Bates suffered another injury this week in practice and he's now on IR. So Nate Davis is out there by default. They got nobody else there to put in, even though I don't think they want to play him. The interior of the offensive line is probably the least sexy thing to talk about when it comes to football, but right now for the Bears, it's their biggest problem."

Williams was under duress throughout the Bears' loss to the Houston Texans in Week 2. He was sacked seven times and pressured 23 times on 48 dropbacks, per NFL's Next Gen Stats.

Pro Football Focus (h/t Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago) credited Davis with allowing four pressures and one sack. Darnell Wright, who plays tackle next to Davis on the right side of the line, allowed five pressures and two sacks.

Quinten Krzysko of Bears on Tap did note Davis was "excellent" in the first half against the Texans, but the wheels fell off with "mental errors, tripping over teammates, and struggling to sustain his anchor" in the second half.

The Bears' second-half offense was virtually non-existent. Four of their eight drives ended in three plays or fewer (three punts, one interception). Two other drives lasted five plays (one punt, one turnover on downs). The one sustained drive they had gained 61 yards on 12 plays, ending with a 54-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.

Davis, who signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Bears as a free agent in March 2023, was actually asked about fan response to his practice habits during training camp in August.

"My focus is just on the building, on the players and our coaching staff and whatever they ask me to do," Davis told reporters on Aug. 15. He wasn't practicing at the time due to an undisclosed injury.

Davis hasn't been on the injury report in the first two weeks of the regular season. He only played 18 snaps in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans, but was on the field for every offensive snap against the Texans.

The Bears have scored just one offensive touchdown through their first two games. Williams is 37-of-66 (56.1 percent) for 267 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He's been sacked nine times, tied with Gardner Minshew II for most in the NFL through two weeks.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud imparted some wisdom to Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams after a 19-13 victory on Sunday night.

The two met on the field for the customary postgame handshakes, where Stroud advised Williams to "just keep going" and not lose his confidence.

After throwing for fewer than 100 yards in his debut, Williams had another game to forget. He finished 23-of-37 for 174 yards and two interceptions against the Texans. Houston also sacked him seven times

The 2024 No. 1 overall pick is still clearly adjusting to life in the NFL. His second interception was the kind of play he would've turned into an incredible highlight at USC thanks to his improvisational ability. Instead, he eluded the pass rush only to force a throw into triple coverage.

For the Bears, the far bigger concern is that they've seemingly done nothing to meaningfully improve the support system around a young franchise quarterback. Sunday's game was almost no different from any of the last two years with Justin Fields under center.

It's too early to have any big-picture conversations about what this means for Williams' development because we're only two games in. But it might be safe to start lowering the expectations surrounding the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner in his first year.

Caleb Williams' NFL debut is in the rearview mirror and the 2024 No. 1 pick knows he can do better.

His Chicago Bears won 24-17 over the Tennessee Titans but his individual statistics were not a huge reason why. Following the game, he told reporters that he was happy with the result but focused on individually improving.

"Obviously, it's great to get this first win," Williams said, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN. "We're all excited. Went to the locker room, celebrated. I sat down, enjoyed the moment, just watching all the guys celebrate understanding that I need to be better, I will be better."

He acknowledged that he missed some passes and stressed that the offense would focus on being more efficient going forward.

Williams went 14-of-29 for 93 passing yards while taking two sacks for 29 yards. He did rush for 15 yards but he was not the driver of the victory. That instead was the defense and special teams, which added two touchdowns, and kicker Cairo Santos, who knocked through three field goals.

After the game, Williams made it known that he doesn't focus on individual numbers.

"I don't care about stats," Williams said, per NFL.com's Eric Edholm.

This weak debut would likely be more of a talking point if the Bears had lost but it's still a bit concerning due to his significant hype and a strong preseason. Still, he became the first quarterback since David Carr to win his debut after being selected with the No. 1 pick.

He will look to build on the performance and get used to NFL speed in Week 2 when Chicago takes on the Houston Texans.

Jayden Daniels looked like the No. 2 overall pick on Sunday, showing off the explosive potential that made him the second quarterback off the board but the inexperience that plagues most rookie signal-callers.

It was an uneven performance for the young quarterback in the 37-20 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he finished 17-of-24 for 184 yards through the air with no interceptions or touchdowns and two sacks taken.

He was far more dynamic as a runner, rushing 16 times for 88 yards and two scores.

Daniels undoubtedly showcased his ability to extend plays or break the pocket and reel off major gains. He also, at times, appeared to hold the ball too long and struggled to connect on routes down the field.

That earned him mixed reviews on social media, though the upside is hard to ignore:

The contrast between the rookie and a veteran like Baker Mayfield—who finished 24-of-30 for 289 yards and four touchdowns—was palpable. Such is to be expected given that experience gap.

And it certainly could have been worse. The top overall pick, Chicago's Caleb Williams, got a win in his first game but finished just 14-of-29 for 93 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Bo Nix had a wild stat line, going 26-of-42 for just 138 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in Denver's Week 1 loss, adding a rushing score.

Daniels is going to be entertaining this season given his explosive ability on the ground. Until he and the Commanders improve in the passing game, however, moving the ball consistently is going to be a struggle.

And it may all be a moot point if the Washington defense remains as hapless as it looked against Mayfield and the Bucs.