Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Caleb Williams had a “nice, professional day at quarterback” on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Consider that a compliment of the highest order.

Especially for a 22-year-old rookie with the weight of a fan base on his shoulders.

It was an apt description of an afternoon that started slow and finished strong, one focused on the composure required to turn things around and help the Bears beat the Bengals 27-3 in the only preseason game at Soldier Field.

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“It’s not always going to be rosy,” Eberflus said. “You aren’t going to make all your completions and make these big chunk plays to start out. … I thought his flow of the game was really nice. I thought his disposition, when he had a little adversity on the sideline, was excellent. Him working with the players, body demeanor never changed. He was always there working through the next one.”

That’s how you go from three straight three-and-outs in the first quarter to two scoring drives in the second.

Williams was 2-for-6 passing for 12 yards and an intentional grounding call over his first three series. While that could be a source of frustration, Eberflus said that didn’t impact his sideline demeanor.

Williams wasn’t a pouter. He was a problem solver.

“He holds true to that because that’s being a quarterback,” Eberflus said. “You have to be the leader. He demonstrated that today by the way his demeanor was and the way he had poise and the way he came back. Eventually things are going to crack.”

They most certainly did.

Williams’ willingness to grind through the tough times led to a few moments of pure magic.

We’ve all seen the first one, where Williams spins out of the pocket, rolls to his left and throws an off-balance strike to Rome Odunze for a 45-yard gain.

Williams followed that up with another scramble drill, where he bought time and bought time and found Odunze for what would’ve been a touchdown if the rookie receiver were in bounds. Undeterred by an odd mishap, Williams took the next snap and bought more and more time waiting for a receiver to come open, but found a running lane instead and cruised into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown run.

That three-play sequence illustrated Williams’ vast potential. His previous attempts showed there’s plenty left to work through.

“We weren’t our best today,” Williams said. “We started out slow. We can’t do that in the National Football League. You can’t come out here and start slow. Myself included, we’re going to get a lot better. We’re going to keep growing. We’re going to have a lot of fun doing it, winning these games, going out there versus these other teams, playing as one.

“We’re excited.”

A fan base desperate for a winner and consistency at quarterback certainly is, too. That’s why Solider Field was packed with engaged fans weathering random rainstorms to see the No. 1 overall pick in an exhibition game.

They probably must wait until the regular-season opener to catch the next glimpse of Williams.

While technically unofficial – Eberflus hasn’t tipped his hand about playing time in Thursday’s exhibition finale at Kansas City — odds seem great that Williams has thrown his last preseason pass.

If that’s the case, what can we glean from his first summer as a pro? That there’s cause for optimism Williams can do great things and work through the bad times thanks to a professional, measured approach his craft. That leads to improvement we all know he needs. We saw that on display Saturday afternoon.

That said, I’m not here to evaluate Williams’ preseason as a whole. I’m brand new to this beat and freely admit I’ve only seen his preseason debut on TV and his second showing in person. I haven’t seen his camp practices and won’t fake like I have to make any bold proclamations or sound smart.

That’s why we’ll rely on Eberflus here – someone who has seen every snap Williams has taken as a Bear and meets with him multiple times per week – for the key takeaway from Williams preseason performance, in games and practices.

“In terms of what I learned from him is what I’ve said all along: He always rises to the challenge,” Eberflus said. “We’ll challenge him to again improve this week basically of quarterbacking that he needs to. He’s done that. He’s done a really good job of that.”

Follow Bears Insider Scott Bair on X at @ScottBairNFL.