What We Learned As Caleb Williams Continued His Education In The 21-16 Loss To The Colts Originally Appeared On NBC Sports Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS — On paper, the Indianapolis Colts seemed like the perfect opponent for the Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams, who needed to find a rhythm early in the season.

But that wasn’t the case Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Williams and the Bears’ offense again struggled with poor execution, mental slumps and odd playmaking in a 21-16 loss to the Colts.

Williams had his first 300-yard passing game and touchdown pass of his career on Sunday. Williams went 33-for-52 for 363 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

But the numbers are just a boost for an offense that has no identity, can’t run or protect the quarterback and has a talented rookie quarterback who still has a lot of growing to do.

The Bears defense did its job, intercepting Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson twice and holding Jonathan Taylor in check for most of the day.

But it wasn’t enough as Williams and the attack struggled to get going until it was too late.

Here’s what we learned from the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Colts.

Ugly sequence

The Bears and Colts made mistakes in the first half.

A 44-yard completion from Richardson to Alec Pierce set up the Colts with first-and-goal at the Bears’ 4-yard line. But three plays later, Richardson rolled out and was immediately pressured by linebacker Jack Sanborn. Instead of eating the play and kicking the field goal, Richardson threw a pass right into the arms of Tremaine Edmunds for an easy interception.

On the next play, Williams threw a dime to Rome Odunze down the sideline for a 47-all gain to move into Colts territory. But two plays later, Williams was out of rhythm, throwing late to DeAndre Carter on a curl route and was easily intercepted by Jaylon Jones.

It took the Colts just three plays to capitalize on Williams’ mistake. A 40-yard pass to Kylen Granson led to a 29-yard touchdown run that put the Colts up 7-0.

Horrible game calling

The Bears entered the game thinking they would get their stagnant run game going again against the NFL’s worst run defense.

But instead of playing on a 12- or 13-man team and running the ball, Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron opted to play primarily on an 11-man team, focusing on the dropback passing game.

The curious playmaking reached a peak late in the first half, when the Bears reached the 4-yard line with 1:55 left on the clock.

On first down, the Bears ran a direct snap to Khalil Herbert for a gain of 2 yards. On the next two plays, the Bears ran out of the shotgun for 1 yard, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the inch line.

The Bears came out with 13, signaled to the gun and ran a speed option down the short side of the field. Williams threw the ball to D’Andre Swift, but the play was dead from the start and the running back was stopped for a loss of 12.

Caleb’s training continues

The Bears’ rookie quarterback again showed flashes of his rare talent. The 47-yard throw to Odunze was a piece of cake, and a later throw to DeAndre Carter showed great pocket awareness and anticipation.

But Williams also threw two interceptions and was lucky he didn’t throw more. He keeps trying throws he could have made in college that aren’t “NFL open.”

Williams shook off his second interception of the day to spark a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that cut the Colts’ lead to 14-9 early in the fourth quarter. Williams had three third-down conversions on the drive before hitting Odunze for a 1-yard touchdown pass.

After the touchdown pass, the Bears trotted the kicking team forward before taking a timeout to go for two and cut the lead to three. Williams’ pass was incomplete, however, and the score remained 14-9.

The Bears defense was able to quickly stop the ball and gave Williams the ball back with 6:52 left on the clock, giving him a chance to win the game.

Williams’ first game-winning drive attempt lasted just one play, as rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu Cole Kmet got past the rim, tackled Williams and released the ball. The Colts pounced on the fumble and Taylor ran it in a few plays later to make it 21-9 and put the nail in the Bears’ coffin.

Williams and the offense got the ball back 12 yards out and covered 70 yards in 12 plays, cutting the lead to 21-16 with a 6-yard pass to Kmet.

But with just one timeout remaining, the Colts needed just one first down to decide the game, which Taylor gave them with a 13-yard run.

Williams had the best game of his young career overall, but he still has a lot of developing to do to become the franchise quarterback his talent suggests.