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Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — As Caleb Williams conducted an on-field interview after the Chicago Bears’ 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the player responsible for the game-sealing interception snuck up behind the rookie quarterback.
“Defense got your back, one-eight,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said.
Chicago won its season opener without scoring an offensive touchdown and while generating just 148 net yards. Special teams, highlighted by Cairo Santos’ three field goals and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and a 43-yard pick-six from cornerback Tyrique Stevenson allowed the Bears to score 21 unanswered points after falling behind 17-3 at the half.
Williams struggled. Despite becoming the first quarterback drafted No. 1 overall to win his debut since David Carr in 2002, Williams was off target on 31% of his throws, according to ESPN Stats & Information, while his longest completion was just 13 yards.
Jaylon Johnson sneaks up behind him
“Defense got your back 1 8”
— Luke O’Grady (@LukeOGrady) September 8, 2024
The former Heisman winner out of USC completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards (3.2 yards per attempt, the second fewest ever by a first-round pick in his NFL debut) and did not throw a touchdown or an interception. His QBR of 22.0 was 28th (the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen was first at 89.9).
Williams looked out of sync when throwing to his top wide receivers, going 10-of-23 for 76 yards when targeting DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze (3.3 yards per attempt), which included a drop by Allen at the goal line.
“I would say there’s not too much to it,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “I would just say as the chemistry builds throughout the course of the season as we stack these games up, it’s going to get better.
“He’s got a very accurate arm. His timing is good. And the chemistry with the receivers is going to improve every week.”
While Williams’ stat line doesn’t reflect the amount of “good throws” Eberflus said he saw from his rookie quarterback, the Bears coach found positives that Williams can lean on as he moves forward.
He’s not the only quarterback drafted No. 1 overall to have struggled in his first start, either. Here’s how the previous five quarterbacks who were top draft picks fared in their debuts. All of the rookies started Week 1, except Baker Mayfield, whose first start was Week 4.
Young threw a pair of interceptions in Carolina’s 24-10 loss. The former Alabama quarterback completed 20 of 38 pass attempts for 146 yards with one touchdown and two picks. Young’s longest completion was 14 yards.
“He’s not going to play like that again,” then-Panthers defensive end Brian Burns said.
Young finished the season with the second-worst QBR in the league at 34.1.
Carolina fired coach Frank Reich after a 1-10 start and finished 2-15.
The Panthers were able to draft Young because the Bears had traded the No. 1 pick in 2023 for a package that included the Panthers’ top pick in 2024. That proved to be No. 1 and led to the Bears drafting Williams.
Lawrence was the first rookie quarterback to start a season opener in franchise history when the Jaguars lost 37-21 in Houston. His bumpy debut included throwing for 332 yards and three touchdowns along with three interceptions, the first time at any level of his football career that he had thrown that many picks.
Lawrence made a few impressive throws, including a 41-yard touchdown to DJ Chark Jr., but often threw beyond or behind his intended receivers (28-of-51 passing).
“I played really bad,” Lawrence said.
Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer was fired 13 games into the season while Lawrence went on to have eight games without a passing touchdown. The Jaguars finished the season 3-14.
One season after winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU, Burrow was the only rookie quarterback to start Week 1 after the pandemic wiped out the preseason.
Bengals coaches took a conservative approach and relied on short passes to move the ball. Burrow went 23-of-36 passing for 193 yards (no passing TD) and scored a 23-yard touchdown on a designed run.
He also threw an interception on a shovel pass to squander a late scoring chance and Cincinnati lost 16-13.
Burrow’s season was cut short with a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve in Week 12. The Bengals finished the 2020 season 4-11, but made the Super Bowl one season later.
Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma in 2018, helped the Cardinals claw back from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to salvage a 27-27 tie with the Lions.
The rookie completed 29 of 54 passes for 308 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and was sacked five times.
Murray didn’t show off his running ability much, rushing three times for 13 yards, but strung together several dynamic throws, completing 15 of 19 attempts for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals finished Murray’s rookie season with a 5-10-1 record.
2018: Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns vs. Raiders
Mayfield’s first career start came one week after he entered a game in relief of Tyrod Taylor. In that game, he led the Browns back from a 14-0 deficit to a 21-17 win over the New York Jets for Cleveland’s first victory in 635 days.
In his first start, Mayfield threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders while committing four turnovers — two interceptions and losing two fumbles — in a 45-42 overtime loss.
The in-fighting between coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley led to both being fired after Week 8. Mayfield quarterbacked five wins for Cleveland after the coaching change and threw for over 376 yards twice in the back half of a 7-7 season.
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