Schrock’s Grade: Caleb Williams, Bears in Loss to Colts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS — The Bears entered the week with a golden opportunity ahead of them.

They split their first two games, despite an offense still trying to find its identity with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears had been unable to run the ball in their first two games and struggled to protect Williams behind a shaky offensive line.

But the NFL schedule makers were kind to them, giving them a chance to improve against the league’s three worst run defenses in Weeks 3-5.

That battle began Sunday with a game against the Colts, a team that was 0-2. The Colts had a bad defense and an inexperienced, young quarterback in Anthony Richardson, who has a tendency to lose the ball.

On paper, Sunday’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium was a perfect opportunity for the Bears to get it right. They had to treat the Colts defense like a speed bag in the run game, get Williams in a rhythm early, avoid turnovers, limit explosiveness and turn Richardson over.

Instead, the Bears entered Indianapolis averaging 4.7 yards per play, 2.3 yards per rush and giving up the ball three times in a disappointing 21-16 loss that dropped them to 1-2.

Here is a grade for a team that is already behind after three games in the season:

Passing attack

Williams’ stats look good.

The No. 1 overall pick completed 33 of 52 attempts for 363 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.

But those numbers feel a little like putting lipstick on a pig. The Bears trailed 21-9 midway through the fourth quarter and couldn’t really find a rhythm in the passing game until the Colts backed off and tried to limit the explosive plays behind them.

Williams had some nice moments. The 47-yard shot to Rome Odunze down the sideline was an all-world toss. He had a later completion to DeAndre Carter where he navigated the pressure, climbed the pocket and threw with anticipation up the middle. But he also had two interceptions and was stripped on a sack late in the game.

The first interception was a “rhythm throw” that Williams was out of sync with. He attempted to get back to Carter on a curl route late in the night, but cornerback Jaylon Jones jumped into the route for the interception. On the second interception, Williams saw the defender had his back to him and attempted to throw a ball for Odunze to go up and grab. But the corner got his hand in it and deflected the ball off Odunze and into Jones’ hands.

Regarding the strip sack, Williams said he felt Colts rookie Laiatu Latu coming around the edge, but he tried to make small moves to get by because Odunze was about to get open behind the linebackers. But Latu came at him faster than expected and knocked the ball loose before Williams could rip it to Odunze.

The rookie quarterback knows he has to clean up mistakes, but he saw Sunday’s offensive performance as a positive step in the Bears’ development into an identity.

Williams’ teammates were also encouraged by the growth he showed in Game 3.

“I mean, there were times I thought he looked like the No. 1 overall pick,” tight end Cole Kmet said after the loss. “He had a swagger about him. His separation. His power with the ball. He gave our receivers opportunities. That was really cool to see.”

GRADE: B-minus (stats are nice, but execution still leaves something to be desired for extended periods)

Attacking game

Last week, the Green Bay Packers were ready to test the Colts for four quarters in support of backup quarterback Malik Willis.

The Bears should have been able to do the same on Sunday.

They couldn’t do that.

The Bears rushed 28 times for 63 yards Sunday. Lead back D’Andre Swift rushed 13 times for 20 yards and had a zero percent success rate.

Sophomore running back Roschon Johnson led the team with 30 yards on eight carries.

The fact that the Bears not only chose to let Williams throw 52 times, but needed him, is an indictment of the offensive line, the backs and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

“I threw it 52 times? Jeez,” Williams said after the loss. “I do what the team needs. If it’s 50 times, it’s 50 times. I can’t have two turnovers on those 50 attempts. And if it ends up being 10 times and I complete nine of those 10 and we have 300 yards rushing and four touchdowns, then I’m fully aware, fully prepared to do whatever that looks like, whatever the team needs. If it comes down to 50 attempts and throwing the ball around, if it comes down to 10 attempts, that’s what the team needs to do to win.”

The Bears planned to lean on their run game early to help Williams settle in and find his groove, but that plan is no longer viable due to their inability to get anything on the ground.

“If our identity is passing the ball, that’s what we’ve got to focus on,” wide receiver DJ Moore said after the loss. “Then the run game is going to take off because everybody’s going to back off. If we’re going to run the ball, we’ve got to run it successfully and then throw the ball downfield on play action.”

GRADE: F-minus

Pass defense

The Bears intercepted Richardson twice on Sunday, both times on passes thrown directly to the Bears defense, but those count the same.

However, the Bears’ pass defense allowed some explosive plays in the passing game, including a 44-yard pass to Alec Pierce that left cornerback Jaylon Johnson angry after the game.

“I can’t get over it,” Johnson said after the loss. “For me, it’s one of those things where I can’t get over it, but I still keep playing. I know how to do both at this point in my career. Know what the standard is for myself and that’s not the standard.”

When Johnson heard that Pierce had made some explosive plays early in the season, he laughed.

“That has nothing to do with me,” Johnson said.

All told, the Bears defense held Richardson to 167 yards on 50 percent completion. But the explosives they allowed led directly to touchdown runs by Jonathan Taylor and Trey Sermon.

It was a good try, but as Johnson noted, not the norm.

GRADE: B

Run defense

Taylor is a difficult full-back to contain, a patient runner who wades behind his line before exploding through the gaps as they open up.

The Bears’ run defense made Taylor work hard to get his yards, but they still allowed him to rush for 110 yards on 4.8 yards per attempt, including a 29-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

The Bears held Richardson in check on the ground (24 yards on eight attempts), but Taylor did enough damage to lead Indianapolis to victory.

GRADE: B

Special teams

Cairo Santos missed a 56-yard kick that was just out of his reach. Daniel Hardy was called for a critical offsides penalty on fourth down that extended a Colts drive and led to their second touchdown.

Not a special day.

GRADE: C

Accompaniment

Whether it was the speed option on fourth-and-goal at the inch line or taking a timeout after a touchdown, Sunday was a big day for coaching malpractice for the Bears.

The attacking play was worthless for most of the day and Eberflus’ time management blunder was an unforgivable blunder.

The coaching needs to improve if the Bears are to rebound and become the playoff contenders they should be.

GRADE: F