With four minutes to play in a blowout loss to their rival, USC quarterback Caleb Williams took a shotgun snap, held the ball in front of him with two hands and watched as running back Austin Jones plunged ahead for a 7-yard touchdown.
The celebration was muted. His touchdown had merely pulled the Trojans within 18 points of rival UCLA in USC’s final regular season game.
Williams hasn’t played a snap of game action since — until Saturday. The Bears’ No. 1 overall pick will start against the Bills — and play against an opponent for the first time in 266 days.
Here’s what to watch for:
Caleb’s operation. Like any rookie, Williams is liable to mix mistakes with flashes of brilliance this preseason. What the Bears want to see, though, is how he guides the offense before the snap — how he repeats the play call from his headset, scans the formation to make sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be and uses the inflection in his voice to call for the snap.
The Bears had cadence issues in mandatory minicamp and, despite praising Williams’ improvement in the area, again at times during training camp.
It’s a problem they’ve yet to solve.
“Get in and out of the huddle,” coach Matt Ebeflus said. “No pre-snap penalties. Clean operation.”
On the field, the Bears know what to expect.
“He's been getting a lot of good reps with our (first-string) defense, so I think it will feel similar to him,” Eberflus said. “But I really feel that when it's live there in the pocket, to be able to move, maneuver in the pocket, ride the pocket, escape on the outside, gaps (between the guards and tackles), all those things."
Eberflus didn’t commit to a specific number of snaps for Williams, though he will play multiple series. The Bears want him to get 45-55 snaps in preseason games before their opener.
Velus’ new gig. The first offensive position Velus Jones ever played was running back. He moved back to the position later, when he was a senior in high school.
The position was simpler at those levels.
“I didn’t have to pass block in park league football, and I didn’t have to pass block in high school,” he said.
He will at the NFL level if he wants to stick at the position. The Bears moved the receiver to running back earlier this week and are expected to give him a limited number of carries Saturday.
Eberflus plans on re-evaluating the experiment after the game, but Jones said he anticipates being used as a hybrid running back-receiver this season. He’s struggled at the latter, catching 11 balls for 127 yards in two years.
The Bears are trying to eke value out of the third-round pick, who was the first offensive player Poles ever drafted.
They value Jones as a kickoff returner and special teams weapon — he played on 49% of their kicking downs last year — but he needs to contribute on offense to solidify a roster spot.
Jones, who took handoffs on gadget plays last year, said coaches broached the idea before practice Tuesday. He was all for it.
“I can use my physicality and my speed as an advantage in the backfield,” he said.
Coverage issues The Bears think they have one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL — but they’ve yet to play together at full strength.
Second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and third-year safety Jaquan Brisker haven’t practiced this week. Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon had muscle tightness on July 23, just four days into practice, after suffering an injury during offseason training. He hasn’t practiced in full since, with Eberflus calling his return a work-in-progress.
“There is a delicate balance here because making sure it’s right but also he’s working diligently to get back,” he said. “We know we have to have the conditioning level, playing with the other players in terms of the continuity for that unit to be able to thrive the way we want it to.”
That leaves Jaylon Johnson and Kevin Byard — who don’t necessarily need the work — and a team of second-string defensive backs to face two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen in the first quarter. That portends a long look at Greg Stroman, Jaylon Jones and rookie Reddy Steward at cornerback Saturday. Elijah Hicks, who had an impressive interception in practice Thursday, and Jonathan Owens, fresh off his Paris trip, will get chances at safety.
Mitch again: The last time Mitch Trubisky faced the Bears in a preseason game, he lit up his former team.
In 2021, just months removed from the Bears letting him leave, Trubisky marched the Bills to four touchdowns and two field goals, completing 20-of-28 passes for 221 yards and a score in just the first half at Soldier Field.
Trubisky took the high road afterward, saying it felt good to do well but that he still had friends on the Bears.
Ryan Poles’ makeover means there aren’t many Bears left from the 2017-20 teams — tight end Cole Kmet is the only offensive starter who played with Trubisky.
Trubisky, who re-signed with the Bills in March after two seasons in Pittsburgh, is the second-string quarterback. He figures to play at least the second quarter Saturday.
