Grading Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears vs. the Falcons

Welcome back, Caleb Williams. The Chicago Bears reveled in their starting quarterback's return. 

Here’s how we graded Caleb Williams and the Bears in their Sunday trip to Atlanta.

Bears Offense

The elephant in the room is the penalties; it’s easy to start there.

The Bears were penalized for over 100 yards. Most of the flags were on the Bears’ offense. 

Other than that, the Bears’ offense looked closer to what we saw in Week 1 against another NFC South opponent. With Caleb Williams’ back, the offense hummed.

The Bears had 31 points one play into the fourth quarter. They had 325 yards, and most of them were passing yards. Williams was surgical, and picked apart the Falcons all day. They scored 14 in the first quarter, and had no problem moving the ball on Atlanta.

Here’s this for a stat.

According to TruMedia, here are the number of first quarters with at least 14 points scored under a Bears head coach:

Ben Johnson: 5

Marc Trestman: 4

Matt Eberflus: 0

Matt Nagy: 2

John Fox: 0

Still, the offense went stagnant when they were up 31-7 and didn’t finish.

That Roschon Johnson fumble will linger as a momentum swinger that changed the tide of the game.

Grade: C

Bears Defense

As good as the Bears’ offense was, the Bears’ defense also stepped up after a dismal showing last week.

The Bears didn’t allow the Falcons to gain 100 total yards until the third quarter. They pressured Michael Penix Jr. with multiple blitzes. They sacked multiple times.

More impressively, they bottled up running back Bijan Robinson. The back Ben Johnson called an MVP candidate was bottled up with just 57 yards on eight carries. After the Bears’ defense was exploited for big gain after big gain against Green Bay, they settled in and found success.

The Bears’ defense was a big reason why the Bears led 31-7 in the fourth. The second-stringers were in the game and allowed a touchdown with 9:34 left.

The first stringers should have stayed in. The Bears’ defense allowed two quick scores and the Falcons got back in it.

Grade: B

Bears Special Teams

The Bears’ special teams both gives and takes.

Josh Blackwell was in the perfect place to recover a punt muffed by Falcons rookie Zachariah Branch. The Bears scored three plays later. The Bears also forced a fumble on a kickoff, too. 

But, they also had a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt and a missed field goal.

Cairo Santos redeemed himself with a made field goal. It was mixed bag of a day, but the Bears had more good than bad.

Grade: B

Caleb Williams

Iceman comes back, and he didn’t waste anytime showing why he’s such a difference maker.

Williams started the game 12 of 12 passing. He was surgical and moved the ball consistently.

He surpassed 300 yards passing for the sixth time in his NFL career. He completed over 80 percent of his passes. He was in firm control of the Bears' offense.

Grade: A

Kyler Gordon

Welcome back, Spidey.

Gordon was activated for Sunday’s game on Saturday, and entered the foray with a Bears’ defense that needed some juice. Gordon brought it.

He had three tackles for loss and multiple sacks on Sunday, including a strip sack, showing off the versatility which endeared him to the Bears’ coaching staff before they officially took over in January 2025.

Gordon’s return comes after a missed offseason and five missed games. It turns out, he’s a difference maker.

Grade: A+

BearsSports