Jayden Daniels active, will start for Commanders against Bears, Caleb Williams

Jayden Daniels active, will start for Commanders against Bears, Caleb Williams

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Jayden Daniels is expected to play on Sunday against the Bears. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will start on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Head coach Dan Quinn told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson on Sunday that Daniels will start barring a setback in pregame warmups. The Commanders then listed him as active prior to kickoff.

Daniels has been dealing with a rib injury. He suffered the injury early last week against the Carolina Panthers. Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota finished the 40-7 Commanders win in relief. Quinn previously said that Daniels was considered a game-time decision against Chicago.

Daniels’ availability ensures a highly anticipated matchup featuring the top two picks in this year’s NFL Draft. The Bears selected Williams first overall, and Washington took Daniels with the No. 2 pick.

Both players have experienced early success in their careers and led their teams to winning records. Washington enters Sunday’s game at 5-2 and in first place in the NFC East. Daniels is a big reason for Washington’s success as one of the league’s best quarterbacks early in the season.

In seven games, Daniels has completed a league-best 75.6% of his passes for 8.4 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and two interceptions. The Commanders rank fourth in the NFL with 384.1 yards per game and are tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the league lead with 31.1 points per game.

Williams has led the Bears to a 4-2 record. He’s completed 65.3% of his passes for 6.6 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns and five interceptions in six starts.


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What we learned as Caleb Williams’ education continued in 21-16 loss vs. Colts

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What we learned as Caleb Williams’ education continued in 21-16 loss vs. Colts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS — On paper, the Indianapolis Colts looked like the perfect opponent for the Bears and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to face as they look to find a rhythm early in the season.

But that wasn’t the case Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, as Williams and the Bears’ offense once again struggled with poor execution, mental lapses, and curious play-calling in 21-16 loss to the Colts.

Williams had his first 300-yard passing game and touchdown pass of his career Sunday. Williams went 33-for-52 for 363 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

But the numbers are just box score window dressing for an offense that has no identity, can’t run the ball or protect the quarterback, and has a talented rookie quarterback who still has a lot of growing to do.

The Bears’ defense did its job. They picked off Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson twice and held Jonathan Taylor in check for most of the day.

But it wasn’t enough, as Williams and the offense struggled to get into gear until it was too late.

Here’s what we learned in the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Colts.

Ugly sequence

The Bears and Colts traded errors during the first half.

A 44-yard completion from Richardson to Alec Pierce set the Colts up with first-and-goal at the Bears’ 4-yard line. But three plays later, Richardson rolled out and was immediately pressured by linebacker Jack Sanborn. Instead of eating the play and kicking the field goal, Richardson lofted a pass right into the arms of Tremaine Edmunds for an easy interception.

On the ensuing play, Williams threw a dime to Rome Odunze down the sideline for a gain of 47 to get into Colts territory. But two plays later, Williams was out of rhythm, threw late to DeAndre Carter on a curl route and was easily picked off by Jaylon Jones.

It only took the Colts three plays to capitalize on Williams’ error, as a 40-yard completion to Kylen Granson set up a 29-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 Colts.

Abysmal play-calling

The Bears entered the game looking for a way to get their stagnant run game going against the NFL’s worst run defense.

But instead of lining up in 12 or 13 personnel and running the ball, Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron elected to live mostly in 11 personnel with a focus on the dropback passing game.

The curious play-calling reached a head near the end of the first half when the Bears got down to the 4-yard line with 1:55 left.

On first down, the Bears ran a direct snap to Khalil Herbert for a 2-yard gain. On the next two plays, the Bears ran out of the shotgun for 1 yard, setting up fourth-and-goal from the inch line.

The Bears came out in 13 personnel, motioned into the pistol, and ran a speed option to the short side of the field. Williams pitched it to D’Andre Swift, but the play was dead from the start, and the running back was stuffed for a loss of 12.

Caleb’s education continues

The Bears’ rookie quarterback once again showed flashes of his rare talent. The 47-yard throw to Odunze was a dime, and a later throw to DeAndre Carter showcased great pocket awareness and anticipation.

But Williams also threw two interceptions and was lucky he didn’t throw more. He continues to attempt throws that he could get away with in college but are not “NFL open.”

Williams shook off his second interception of the day to engineer a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that cut the Colts’ lead to 14-9 early in the fourth quarter. Williams had three third-down conversions on the drive before hitting Odunze for a 1-yard touchdown pass.

After the touchdown pass, the Bears trotted out the kicking team before burning a timeout to go for two and cut the lead to three. However, Williams’ pass was incomplete, and the score stayed at 14-9.

The Bears’ defense got a quick stop and gave Williams the ball back with 6:52 remaining and a chance to win the game.

Williams’ first game-winning drive attempt only lasted one play as rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu beat Cole Kmet around the edge, sacked Williams, and jarred the ball loose. The Colts jumped on the fumble, and Taylor ran it in a few plays later to make it 21-9 and plunge the nail in the Bears’ coffin.

Williams and the offense got the ball back down 12 and went 70 yards in 12 plays, cutting the lead to 21-16 on a 6-yard pass to Kmet.

But with only one timeout left, all the Colts needed was one first down to ice the game, which Taylor gave them with a 13-yard run.

Overall, Williams played the best game of his young career, but still has a lot of developing to do to become the franchise quarterback his talent suggests.


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Bears see improvement in Caleb Williams’ performance, but it comes in a 21-16 loss to Colts

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams produced promising numbers in his third career NFL start.

They came with a disappointingly familiar result Sunday for Chicago.

While the No. 1 overall draft topped the 300-yard mark for the first time and got the Bears into the end zone twice with the first two TD passes of his pro career, Williams could not complete a fourth-quarter comeback attempt at Indianapolis, suffering his second straight defeat.

But Williams remains optimistic.

“Got our first two passing touchdowns of the year, which obviously feels good,” Williams said. “I think the offensive identity is brewing. I think it’s a lot closer than it was the week before or weeks before, I think it’s right there. I think we were one small detail away on a lot of these plays and that includes me.”

After last Sunday’s loss at Houston, the bruised and battered Williams hobbled off the field so sore that the effects were lingering three days later.

This time, he walked off the field, quickly passing people, his chin pointed up and with a look that said he was ready to start all over next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

The primary problem, so far, for the Bears (1-2) continues to be pass protection.

While Williams was a solid 33 of 52 for 363 yards, all career bests, and finished with a passer rating of 80.8 — more than double Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson’s 39.0 — the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner spent most of the game operating on the run. Again.

The result: Williams threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, had a halftime heave batted down in the end zone while getting sacked four times, hit a total of seven times and harangued into a series of throwaways including on a 2-point conversion pass that would have cut a 14-9 deficit to three.

A fourth-quarter strip-sack led to Jonathan Taylor’s second scoring run of the day, a 1-yard plunge with 5:21 to play, that made it 21-9 and essentially sealed Chicago’s fate despite Williams throwing for the most yards in an NFL game this season.

It was that kind of day again for the Bears — as it has been for much of the first three games.

“The quick game was there. When we needed to throw the ball down the field, we could,” said receiver DJ Moore, who had eight catches for 78 yards and 9.78 per catch. “When you look past the turnovers and the penalties, you can start to see the offense coming alive.”

Clearly, though, Williams needs more help.

Chicago only rushed for 63 yards and was thrown for a 12-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the Colts 1-yard line in the first half — against a run defense that started Week 3 yielding a league-worst 237.0 yards per game.

With Matt Pryor replacing injured right guard Nate Davis in the starting lineup and left tackle Braxton Jones leaving briefly in the first half after appearing to hurt his right leg, the Bears’ offensive line again struggled to keep Williams upright.

And yet Williams still held up relatively well.

“I was pleased with the distribution of the football by Caleb,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “That allowed the receivers to have confidence. I thought we were committed to the run. I’m proud of the way the defense played. But the most important thing is winning.”




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Caleb Williams impresses in preseason win over Bills

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Jones said he was more than willing to move from receiver to running back, a switch that took place to begin the practice week.

“God blessed me with speed, size and physicality, so why not?” Jones said. “Anything to help this team out and increase value.”

The Bills cut the gap to 13-6 on Bass’ 49-yard field goal late in the period after defensive end Daniel Hardy sacked quarterback Shane Buechele for a 6-yard loss.

Early in the fourth quarter, Micah Baskerville produced the play of the day by the Bears defense. Stepping in front of running back Frank Gore Jr., the first-year linebacker intercepted a Buechele pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. Santos missed the extra point, but the Bears led 19-6.

“I saw the quarterback go through his reads,” Baskerville said. “I just went ahead and took my guy, and he threw it to him.”

Asked what he was thinking during his return, Baskerville said: “Don’t get caught by the QB? That’s it.”

Booker added two more sacks of Buechele on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, increasing his total to 2.5 on the day.

“It was a great feeling, a rush of energy and I can’t wait to do it again,” Booker said. “I’ve just got to watch the film to see how [I] can improve. There’s always stuff I could have done better. I probably could have had two more sacks.”

Hardy also generated 2.5 sacks for a Bears defense that recorded eight sacks and did not allow a touchdown in the game.

Rookie running back Ian Wheeler followed with TD runs of 7- and 8-yards on consecutive possessions with 6:03 and 2:24 remaining to widen the margin to 33-6.

“It’s something I’ve been working towards for a while,” Wheeler said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play in the last game, so my teammates helped me get into the end zone twice and that’s [something] I could be happy about.”


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