Takeaways, standouts and news from the Chicago Bears-Cincinnati Bengals joint practice
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals' joint practice did not get off to a good start for Caleb Williams.
His first throw of the day, starting the 7-on-7 period, was picked off.
It can only go up from there, right?
Here are the takeaways, standouts and news from Thursday's joint practice:
Joint practice takeaways
Caleb Williams showed the most mettle on Thursday. After getting picked off early, the No. 1 overall pick recovered well. He tossed touchdown throws to Keenan Allen and DJ Moore, and looked to settle after a misstep. It was a good day for those who want to see growth from the quarterback, meaning Bears fans who can buy in to better days ahead. "You can fan however you want a fan," Bears tight end Cole Kmet said.
The defenses won the day overall. Both the Bengals and Bears first-team defenses won the two-minute drills. The Bengals forced a turnover on downs after a penalty and a sack pinned the Bears back on third and about 25. The Bengals took advantage. The Bears' defense allowed a couple first downs, but the defense never broke. They also forced a turnover on downs, getting there with another pass batted at the line of scrimmage by Gervon Dexter Sr. "Those guys over there were raving about our defense," Kmet said.
The Bears' offensive line was all present and participated Thursday. Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Nate Davis and Darnell Wright participated in the rain. This is big, especially with the preseason getting into full swing leading up to the first game of the regular season.
The bottomline is what we've seen in practice so far in terms of progression from the offense and the success from the defense is carrying over into competition against other top teams in the NFL.
Thursday Standouts
Caleb Williams
The No. 1 overall pick and future of the Bears' franchise showed off his poise and mental toughness, shaking off an early interception by throwing multiple scores and protecting the football in the drills and reps after.
Kevin Byard
When the Bears need an interception this season, Byard looks like a player they can turn to for that turnover. Byard had an interception on Burrow on Thursday during 11-on-11 drills, in similar fashion to how he intercepted Williams a few times in Bears practice.
Dante Pettis
In the rain, plenty of players struggled catching the ball. Pettis had a good day catching passes. He hauled in throws from Williams and Tyson Bagent, creating separation in each rep, too. That's a good day for the veteran, who's establishing trust with his quarterbacks.
Greg Stroman
Stroman was another one of the players who showed his ballhawking skills. He had an interception Thursday.
The ascension of Austin Booker
The last time a Bears' fifth-round selection at defensive end made a massive impact on the defensive line was Mark Anderson in 2006.
That could be Austin Booker this season, especially after he's shown an understanding of the Bears' defensive scheme and has shown he can put it into action with his 2.5 sacks against the Bills on Saturday.
That could turn into reps with the first team this Saturday, Eberflus said Thursday.
"He's earned that," Eberflus said.
The Bears and the injury bug
The Bears can consider themselves lucky on Thursday.
Eberflus spoke on the Bears' injury list, on the same day the entire offensive line practiced and participated in drills, and said guard/center Ryan Bates is "week-to-week" with his injury. Bates, as a backup lineman, will be needed.
In the rain, the Bengals had a dismal day.
Two Cincinnati players – Chris Evans and D’Ante Smith – were carted off after suffering lower body injuries. Evans was holding one of his knees, and Smith left with an Aircast over his left leg.
In such terrible conditions, the Bears escaped unscathed.