Is Caleb Williams ready for Week 1 after 43 preseason snaps? These moments say so

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears have seen enough.

Across the last three months, the primary goal has been making sure No. 1 overall pick and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is ready for the NFL in Week 1 on Sept. 8. Nothing else is as important across a roster that's built to win now.

After three quarters of preseason play, the Bears have decided Williams does not need any more live reps. He, and the majority of the first-team players, will sit out Thursday's preseason game against Kansas City.

Williams had 43 snaps across two preseason games, which is below the Bears' original targeted range of 45-55 snaps.

Williams' final preseason statline is 10 of 20 passing for 170 yards with two carries for 20 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown run on a scramble play. He did not throw a touchdown or an interception.

"But overall, I thought, a good preseason for him,"  Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said.

Still, the coaches see the progression. Here are moments where Williams has proven he's progressed to the point where he's ready for his first NFL regular season.

Williams' 42-yard screen pass to D'Andre Swift

One of the ways Eberflus saw growth in Williams' game is in how he processes a pre-snap checklist.

"Just the process of being able to get into the huddle, make the call, be clean, get to the line," Eberflus said. "Look at the shot clock and say, 'OK, this is a little bit low,' and move guys around fast enough to get the snap off."

This was evident in the first big play of the preseason for the Bears, which was a 42-yard screen pass Williams completed to D'Andre Swift against the Bills.

Williams went through this check list on this play, and was able to get the snap off as the playclock was going to zero.

He also followed the play perfectly, allowing the line to shed their blocks and get into space before passing the ball off to Swift. That timing was precarious, as Williams almost got sacked. But, he was able to flip the ball off just in time.

"Have an awareness and then really do a good job of at the line of scrimmage, to be able to adjust to what the defense gives you,"  Eberflus said. "Make your adjustments from there."

The 43-yard pass interference play vs. Cincinnati

When it comes down to it, moving the ball by any means is still moving the ball.

Getting a 43-yard penalty counts. Tyler Scott had a step on his defender last Saturday and might have had a touchdown if he wasn't interfered with.

What makes the play notable is how Williams described it after the game.

He not only understood what the defense was doing, but reacted mid-play to how the Bengals defense was reacting to the Bears' playcall.

"The corner tried to overplay, he ended up sitting flat-footed," Williams said after the win over the Bengals. "Tyler ran right by him, ran a great route. The safety came down on the deep over. Then the backside corner tried to invert and get over the top of that. We teach it to stay up and don't cross the hash and things like that because that back, that corner, would never be able to make that play."

Seeing things like that at this level is impressive.

Williams' 45-yard pass to Rome Odunze

This was the gem Bears fans will carry with them into the regular season.

One of the things that makes Williams special is his ability to create and make off-platform throws. He did this with a 26-yard pass to Cole Kmet against the Bills. Against the Bengals, he threw off-platform while also avoiding the Bengals pass rush.

The completion to Odunze was half scramble-drill lessons and half quarterback-receiver chemistry. Williams knew where to put the ball, and Odunze knew where it was going to be.

Williams still had to escape the pocket, first. Eberflus lauded Williams' post-snap abilities as a quarterback on Tuesday, which, at the bottom line, took care of the football.

"I think it's been clean," Eberflus said. "Post-snap, I think he's been relatively good in terms of going through his progressions, making good decisions, taking care of the football in the pocket with two hands and moving around there when he does have to do that." 

With these reps under his belt, the Bears coaches are confident Williams is ready for the start of the regular season. It's a matter of carrying those lessons into when the games matter most. 

The coaches aren't the only ones that see it, either.

The Bears' defenders that go up against Williams daily also see it.

"I see him getting better and better everyday," Bears defensive end Montez Sweat said. "It's kind of scary."

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