Schrock's report card: Caleb Williams' assessment, Bears for much-needed win over Rams

Schrock's report card: Rating Caleb Williams, Bears for much-needed win over Rams originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

CHICAGO – Exhale.

After three weeks of poor offensive football and questionable coaching decisions, the 2024 Bears needed a day like Sunday's 24-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field.

It wasn't always pretty.

The Bears offense was once again a brutal mess early in the game.

Quarterback Caleb Williams and Co. opened the game with three punts in a row, one of them after an eight-play, 9-yard drive that lasted 6:14.

But the Bears' defense kept them in the game, and the offense finally found its rhythm in the second half to get a much-needed win over the undermanned Rams.

A week of leadership council discussions and team meetings ended with the desired result.

The Bears are 2-2. Back to neutrality. Ready for October with everything that lies ahead.

“I think it's really just about conveying the message to everyone in the building,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said this week after the win. “For the players and coaches, I mean, there's a lot of urgency right now. We can't wait and say, 'Well, we have time.' No. We will never have this team again. I think we just have to take advantage of the same opportunities, communicate, really communicate as equals and just go out there and find ways to win.

“We did that.”

Here's a report on a pressure-packed 2-2 Bears win:

Passing offense

Looking at the box score won't excite anyone, but Sunday's game was the best game of Williams' young career.

The No. 1 overall pick did a good job playing clean, efficient football. He recognized the shots and shot them downfield when they were presented and quickly performed the checkdown when they weren't.

Williams went 17 of 23 for 157 and a touchdown. He didn't turn the ball over and made two high-level throws – one for a touchdown to DJ Moore and one for the touchdown to Cole Kmet that set up a D'Andre Swift score.

According to his own statements, Williams is feeling more and more comfortable and is finding a rhythm.

Williams and Moore had a miscommunication on a pass in the end zone late in the first half. Moore took responsibility for the mistake. The two discussed it at halftime and got on the same page in the second half.

The Bears are still putting all the pieces together.

Sunday's second half, where they used their pace, kept the ball in front of the post and marshalled their personnel, was a crucial development and a good sign for the future.

CALEB WILLIAMS grade: A-minus
TEAM LEVEL: B (Pass protection needs improvement)

Rushing offense

There was so much talk about the Bears' lack of a ground game early on, but they finally got going in the second half.

The Bears' first drive of the second half was the kind of physical football they had been looking for in the first month of the season.

Williams and Co. engineered a 12-play, 74-yard drive in which they manhandled the Rams at the point of attack. Williams capped the drive with a score for Moore to make it 17:9.

“This is the key point now,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said of the Bears’ physicality on the first drive of the second half. “It’s definitely the appeal. Especially in football, when you move the ball with bad intentions, violently with the running game, and move people away from where they want to be. That’s always fun.”

Running back D'Andre Swift rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, including a 36-yard touchdown run. Roschon Johnson added 26 yards and a touchdown.

The bar was subpar, but this was the Bears' best game on the ground this season, and Swift finally looked like the “gun back” they had touted in the offseason.

Grade: B-plus

Pass defense

With limited weapons at his disposal, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford still gave the Bears' defense hell all day Sunday.

Stafford threw for 224 yards and made several impossible throws under pressure.

But the veteran quarterback was also stripped deep in his own territory by Montez Sweat in the first half. This fumble gave the Bears some life and turned the game from a 6-0 Rams lead to a 7-6 Bears lead.

Stafford did everything he could on Sunday without Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and several offensive linemen.

But the Bears defense flexed in the red zone and made the big plays when needed.

Grade: B

Run the defense

Facing a Rams offense without their top pass-catchers, the Bears defense knew stopping the run was their top priority Sunday.

But that's easier said than done against Sean McVay and the Rams.

Rams running back Kyren Williams rushed for 94 yards on 19 carries (4.9 per carry) while the team totaled 119 yards on the ground.

The Bears were pushed around the floor at times, but they were able to keep the Rams from scoring in the red zone on three of four possessions.

Bend but don't break, worked Sunday.

Grade: B-minus

Coaching

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron found his rhythm in the second half and should be off the Heat for at least a week.

Head coach Matt Eberflus had no strange challenges or wasted timeouts, dialing up the perfect safety blitz in the second half to stop a critical Rams drive.

The 10 penalties are an issue that needs to be sorted out over the course of the week.

Grade: B-plus