The Chicago Bears participated in a joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday ahead of their preseason game on Saturday, and there was plenty to break down, including the performance of quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams is entering his third season following a breakout sophomore campaign where he set a franchise single-season passing record, led an NFL record seven fourth quarter comebacks (including the postseason) while leading Chicago to an 11-6 record, NFC North title and playoff win. That was all in one season with head coach Ben Johnson. Now, all eyes are on Williams this summer as he continues to develop under Johnson and make a huge leap in Year 3.
We’re taking a look at the good, the bad and the noteworthy with Williams
from the Bears' joint practice against the Bengals:
The Good
It wasn't a perfect day for Williams against the Bengals, but he had an overall solid showing. According to Bear Report, Williams was "sharp" during 7-on-7 red zone work. In fact, early in practice it was Williams and Joe Burrow lighting up for their respective teams and gave opposing defenses fits. Williams had some nice completions to wide receivers Rome Odunze and Kalif Raymond, as well as tight end Colston Loveland. Adam Jahns noted that the Bears offense was at its best during the red-zone drills, where they scored three touchdowns to Loveland, Raymond and Kaden Davis. According to Bengals reporter Charlie Clifford, his "top takeaway from majority of 11 on 11s is the explosive plays from the Bears."
The Bad
While practice started off solid for Williams and the first-team offense, the wheels fell off near the end of practice. That was especially true during the final team period. According to Adam Jahns, Williams was sacked by Myles Murphy on back-to-back plays -- beating Theo Benedet on both -- where one was a safety before Williams tossed an interception to Jalen Davis over the middle to end practice. Patrick Finley noted that the offense was completely "dominated" by the Bengals defense in that final series. That wasn't Williams' only turnover as he was had a pass tipped and picked off by Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence earlier in practice.
The Noteworthy
The connection between Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland is going to be one of the most important for the offense this season, and they're already giving opposing teams issues, as evidenced during Thursday's joint practice. There was one play in particular, where Williams connected with Loveland during 11-on-11 red zone work that left one Bengals beat reporter impressed. According to Jeremy Rauch, it was an "unbelievable play by Caleb Williams" where "Dexter Lawrence beat the double team (and) had a hand in his face" and "Williams threw a laser that whizzed over Jordan Battle’s head to Colston Loveland in the endzone." It was "an impossible completion and he made it." Even Bears beat reporters, who've seen this all camp, were left impressed. Sean Hammond said: "Caleb Williams zipped one into tight coverage in the red zone. It hit Colston Loveland on the shoulder where only he could catch it. Defender was all over Loveland. Impressive pitch and catch."
.@colstonlovelan1 is a problem 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/4mB9CCYVs0
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 20, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Caleb Williams Watch: How Bears QB fared in joint practice vs. Bengals
