Week 5 NFL Takeaways: Caleb Williams Playing Like the No. 1 Pick in the Draft

What a fun, entertaining Week 5. We’re ready to roll with the takeaways to recap it all, morning (Hello, London!) to night …

Caleb Williams looked like the first pick in the NFL draft on Sunday. Tucked into that fact is this—the Chicago Bears had a good enough team over the first month of the season to allow him the time to get there. In Week 1, it was a pick-six and a score on a blocked punt doing the job for Chicago. In dropping their next two games, the coaching staff never panicked and asked too much of its quarterback. Instead, Williams got to play, make his mistakes, and learn.

And Sunday, he was 20-of-29 for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks as the Bears blew out the Carolina Panthers, 36–10.

“It’s just about us being able to have him grow every week,” coach Matt Eberflus told me during his commute home. “He’s learned about the game up here every single week. It’s the noise in Houston and taking that into Indianapolis and operating in the noise way better there. Being able to fit the ball into his skill [players], he did that also in Indy. Then, just worked every single week to get better. Then, just playing clean football.

“I think what he learned most was I do have a good team around me. If I play clean football in that position, we can win some games. He said that last week, and I think he’s spot on.”

This is a different Bears team, for sure. Eberflus told me the turning point, as he saw it, came this week last year—when Chicago won in Washington, 40–20, on a Thursday night in Week 5 to stem the tide of an 0–4 start. Since then, the Bears are 10–8, with three different quarterbacks (Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent) registering multiple wins as through that 18-game stretch.

So where usually being the first pick means going to an objectively bad team, Williams found a soft landing with a team in that draft slot via the Bryce Young trade of the year before. Which, again, gave him the freedom, through the first regular-season month of his NFL career, to figure out what he could get away with, and what he couldn’t in pro football, and also get his footing in operating the offense as prescribed.

“He’s done a really good job, especially the last couple of weeks with that, knowing that our defense is playing at a high level,” OC Shane Waldron told me Sunday night. “Our special teams are really good. That’s the complimentary football that we can play.”

And with that consistent growth, he positioned himself this week to look a little more like the Superman the Bears drafted him to be, even if they didn’t necessarily need that from him with Carolina in town.

The interesting thing, though, is how most of the progress was shown in the stuff he isn’t known for—operating on schedule and in rhythm within the offense. Both of his touchdown throws, in fact, to DJ Moore were examples of it, downfield throws from the pocket, the first one a 34-yarder in the first quarter, and the second a 30-yarder in the second quarter.

• The 34-yarder was on second-and-6 less than 10 minutes into the game, with the Panthers bringing pressure, and Cole Kmet and D’Andre Swift picking up the blitz. What the coaches loved was how Williams calmly and quickly identified it, and then reacted to the job the tight end and back were doing in pass protection.

“That understanding of—If there is pressure, is the pocket collapsing and I got to find a check down, or is the pocket firm and I can go ahead and take a shot down the field?” Waldron says. “That was one of those instances up front where the o-line and then those two guys in the blitz pickup did such a good job keeping a firm pocket. And DJ’s able to run away from the corner on that look on the crossing route on the deep cross.”

In other words, he recognized the rush was picked up, saw Moore running free underneath the three-deep coverage, and 34 yards later, the Bears tied the score at 7.

• The 30-yarder also highlighted a more patient Williams in the pocket. The difference with this one, in what it proved, was how quickly he got to Moore in reading the coverage, with Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, in Waldron’s words “1A and 1B” on the front side of Williams’s progression.

“The number one option’s to the right side unless the safety plays over the top, which he did,” Waldron says. “Caleb’s ability to instantly progress to the second part of the read and find DJ on the post for a touchdown based on the look, I thought those were really good feels, natural quarterback play, where he could feel everything that was happening and not having to go slowly through everything, but just feeling it happen in the moment, so he could progress quickly.”

And the throw itself was a dime.

Then, there were examples where Williams did the safe, smart thing. One was on a call that had go routes up each sideline, with Kmet running a crosser. Reading a backed-up defensive look, the quarterback prudently checked it down to Moore for a two-yard gain, which helped to position the offense for a 26-yard, Williams-to-Kmet chunk play on the next snap.

“Last week, had a couple of shot plays called where the coverage didn’t play out perfect or maybe there was an edge rush or something like that,” Waldron says. “He did a really good job of taking the check-downs. The flip side of that is you want to get the ball down the field. What he did a really good job of in this game was letting those plays naturally occur. When he did have a chance, they were in rhythm and in-the-pocket downfield throws.

“He was able to hang in there and the big plays came to him.”

The final result on Sunday was a 126.2 passer rating, his second consecutive triple-digit rating—which was significant to Eberflus—in that being over 100 in that category means a quarterback is playing clean, efficient football. And after those early bumps, Williams is.

That, in turn, has set the foundation, or floor for a player with a sky-high ceiling.

“I told the guys after the game, and Caleb’s no different, that we have to learn from this game,” Eberfus says. “We can get better from every performance. It doesn’t matter if you win by three lose by seven or win by a wide margin. That doesn’t matter. We have to get better from this game right here.”

Based on a month of evidence, it’s a good bet Williams is on a good track.

There are a lot of great things about Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, and the way he gets the ball down the field is certainly one of them. I don’t think there’s a ranking of this out there, but if there was, I’d imagine the rookie’s deep ball would be up there with any quarterback who’s come into the league over the past 20 years.

You saw it against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. The Arizona Cardinals did a good job defending it last week. That may have lulled the Cleveland Browns into a false sense of security (or something like that) in defending Daniels & Co. on Sunday.

Whether the visitors saw it coming, Washington gave it to the Browns in its 34–13 rout of the AFC North cellar-dwellers. Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for 66 yards to land Washington’s initial first down of the day. And where an interception inside the 5-yard line ended up cutting that drive short, Daniels made up for it later by delivering a 41-yard dime down the right sideline to Dyami Brown.

“That’s something that jumped out right away, his anticipation, his ability to throw it on the run,” McLaurin told me from the locker room after the game. “He has a lot of talent with being able to stretch the field vertically and horizontally. He can hit all the throws. Going into the season, we had to get a little better at the scramble drill—it really came from him becoming more confident keeping his eyes down the field. He uses his legs to prolong the play.

“That throw today was something that we’ve been practicing since spring.”

So on that one, Daniels broke contain to his right, and McLaurin, like he said, followed his rules, mirroring the direction his quarterback was running while looking for dead spots in the coverage. But there wasn’t really a dead spot, just a little space that McLaurin was able to create on his old college teammate, Denzel Ward, and somehow, that far downfield, that was enough for Daniels to fit the ball in.

On the Brown touchdown, he saw the matchup and dropped the ball over Martin Emerson Jr. and into his receiver’s arms.

These things, of course, generally take talent, football IQ, and some experience to pull off.

Which makes what Daniels is doing even more impressive to everyone involved, his most respected veteran teammates included.

“I didn’t anticipate him coming in and hitting the ground running like that,” McLaurin says. “I’ve played with a few quarterbacks and definitely a few rookie quarterbacks. Sometimes it takes some time to get comfortable in the NFL system, not just at practice. Then you go to a game and it’s a different animal. What’s always encouraged me about him is his ability to get better every day in practice. When he would have a so-so practice, the next day he would not be making the same mistakes twice.

“Same thing in joint practice. Then you get in the game, you see him getting better each and every week. I think that’s a testament to his experience that he had in college, but also the preparation he puts in. That dude works so hard. He’s always prepared.”

One example came last week when the team spent the time between wins over the Bengals and Cardinals in Arizona. Commanders coach Dan Quinn told me last week that late into the night, he’d notice the lights were still on in the makeshift quarterbacks room set up at the team hotel.

McLaurin noticed it, too.

“When you see him working hard and putting in the time each day, you make sure you’re on your P’s and Q’s as well because you know he’s going to be prepared,” he says. “As his wide receiver, I want to be on the same page as him. I’ve got to make sure I’m preparing just like he is.”

Based on what we’ve seen, and what I know, I’d say there’s a lot more of where Sunday came from.

There’s rightfully been a lot of focus on Sam Darnold’s career renaissance in Minnesota, but the 5–0 Vikings are showing an ability to win in different ways. Sam Darnold’s stat line in Minnesota’s Sunday morning (U.S. time) win in London over the New York Jets proves that.

The quarterback went 14-of-31 for 179 yards and a pick. His team won, 23–17.

And, yes, Darnold made some plays down the stretch. Strikes on the team’s final real possession to tight end Johnny Mundt and Justin Jefferson moved the chains and helped the Vikings drain nearly three minutes off the clock. But Darnold’s in a position to do that because of what Brian Flores’s defense did, again, in just about every big spot. Which is why, when I asked veteran corner Stephon Gilmore if he was surprised by the team’s perfect start, the former Defensive Player of the Year, who joined the team in August, said he wasn’t.

“It doesn’t surprise me because I think that we just play together, unselfishly,” he says. “We don’t care who makes the plays. We just want someone to make the plays each down. It’s just unselfish guys playing with each other.”

So this week, the biggest plays were made by Andrew Van Ginkel, Cam Bynum and Gilmore himself, with each of those guys picking off Aaron Rodgers. Van Ginkel’s accounted for the Vikings’ first touchdown—he dropped in a zone-blitz look, one-handed a ball intended for Mike Williams, and took it 62 yards to give Minnesota a 10–0 first-quarter lead. Bynum’s was minutes later on what looked like an overthrow of Allen Lazard.

Gilmore, meanwhile, saved his best plays for the biggest moments. At the end of the third quarter, with the Jets in the red zone, the 34-year-old was all over Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard on consecutive plays to force a field goal, and keep the Vikings up a touchdown. And at the end of the game, Gilmore picked off Rodgers with 49 seconds left to seal the win, doing it in a way that showed his football IQ.

“I just know Aaron Rogers, he likes back-shoulder [throws],” Gilmore says. “I was able to cut [Williams] off at the top of the route and be able to see the ball. They got me the play before that on the slant. I told him if he threw it my way again, I’m going to make him pay. I had good technique and made the play.”

The Vikings got the win, and the defense had another feather in its cap. And Flores—who was a huge draw for Gilmore, since Gilmore won a title with him in New England—had another piece of evidence for the difference he’s making for a team that Kevin O’Connell has pulling every lever to pull out wins.

“He listens. He holds us accountable,” Gilmore says of Flores. “The thing about him, he will call anything to help the team win. He’s not a guy that’s going to play one coverage. He’s going to mix it up. He has to do that to be a great defensive coordinator in this league. Most guys don’t do that, but he’s able to do it.”

As it stands, there’s a lot the Vikings can do these days, which, as I see it, is why this hot start of theirs sure looks like it’ll stand the test of time.

While we’re there, the Aaron Rodgers throw to Mike Williams seems indicative of an offense that, right now, seems a little off in about every single way. That’s why, reluctantly, I’d say I agree with my colleague Conor Orr that the Jets have to do everything they can to pry Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Normally, I’m not the guy to press the panic button. But after Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London, the Jets are 2–3, with the Buffalo Bills and a short-week trip to Pittsburgh up next.

There’s no question that the franchise is all in to win now. They have aging players in key spots across the roster. They have really good talent on rookie contracts (Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall) who are going to need second contracts very soon. They, of course, have a 40-year-old quarterback. So this group probably has a max of two shots at this, counting this season as the first one (and last season as the one that got away for obvious reasons).

Perception across the teams involved holds that Adams is trying to get to the Jets, but the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers have called, as well. The Saints are also one of the teams Adams would like to go to. But the Jets might be in the best position.

The Raiders want a second-round pick. That ask is too much based on the market for Keenan Allen (a fourth-round pick) and Stefon Diggs (the rough equivalent of a third-round pick) in the offseason. So the Jets’ offer should come in with a third-round selection and maybe some sort of sweetener. I’d be hesitant to do it … but it might take as much as a second-rounder.

The reason why? Rodgers’s timing and chemistry with Williams and Garrett Wilson aren’t there right now. Rodgers does have it with Allen Lazard, but there’s only so much you can do with Rodgers’s old Green Bay friend. The opportunity is there to get another, more talented Green Bay friend of his, where chemistry, timing and knowledge of the offense won’t be a problem. The Jets need to make the deal.

And maybe meet the Raiders’ desire for that second-round selection.

The Atlanta Falcons have a bunch of guys who have yet to live up to their billing—which is another reason why Thursday night’s triumph was so encouraging. This is something I thought about in the immediate aftermath of Atlanta’s scintillating 36–30 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I recalled what I’d heard about Kirk Cousins’s start from people on the ground in the days leading up to this particular showdown.

Specifically how Cousins expressed disappointment in his own play to those in various corners of the organization. He also intimated the same to me two Sundays ago after the Falcons outlasted a really good New Orleans Saints team at home.

It’s fair to say, he’s happier with himself now. Passing for 509 yards and four touchdowns will do that for a quarterback.

But more than just that, it’s the progress you saw from the offense as a whole. Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson may never live up to their draft billing. Pitts, taken with the fourth pick in the 2021 draft, has been really only a matchup player—rather than an evolved tight end—in his four pro seasons. Robinson’s vision, instincts and feel for the game have held him back from being the do-everything skill player he was drafted to be as the No. 8 pick in the ’23 draft. And London’s grown into a tough, solid possession receiver, but one that lacks the ability to get downfield as a receiver taken with the No. 8 selection in the ’22 draft. 

Yet, those three went for 314 yards on 35 touches Thursday night (London had nearly half of those yards), and that’s just the start of it. Darnell Mooney (nine catches, 105 yards) and Ray-Ray McCloud III (six catches, 66 yards) showed why Cousins trusts them again. And an offensive line with three first-round picks was sturdy, too.

All in all, it was a really good night. It was also a pretty good display of all of the depth and balance of talent Atlanta has on that side of the ball—where if some guys end up being doubles instead of home runs, that’s O.K. And if Cousins, who struggled to drive the ball through his first month back since recovering from his torn Achilles (the injury was to his plant foot) keeps getting better, the Falcons might really have something. I like where they are right now.

Also, given the flashes we’ve gotten from New Orleans in Tampa, that division might be a whole lot stronger than anyone thought it’d be over the summer.