The conversation leading into Sunday’s game at Washington centered around Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. It was a homecoming game for someone who spent formative years in Maryland and went to high school in Washington, D.C. He was facing Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury, who mentored him the previous year at USC.

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Oh, and there was that whole thing about a faceoff with Jayden Daniels in a showdown of the Nos. 1 and 2 overall picks.

Williams‘ performance has been afterthought following a crazy finish where the Commanders sealed an 18-15 victory on a Hail Mary as time expired.

We’ll break it down right here in our weekly deep dive into Williams’ performance in Sunday’s game and the season as a whole:

Week 8 stat line

Box score

10-for-24 passing (41.7 comp%), 131 yds, 5.5 ypa, 0 TD, 0 INT, 59.5 passer rating; 10 rushes, 41 yards, 2 sacks, 0 fumbles

PFF Metrics

Kept clean (39.4%): 6-for-12, 61 yds, 5.1 ypa, 0 TD, 0 INT

Under pressure (60.6%): 4-for-12, 70 yds, 5.8 ypa, 0 TD, 0 INT

Not Blitzed (45.5%): 5-for-10, 41 yds, 4.1 ypa, 0 TD, 0 INT

When Blitzed (17.6%): 5-for-14, 90 yds, 6.4 ypa, 0 TD, 0 INT

PFF Passing direction map

Overall evaluation

Williams didn’t have his best day in Washington. He was uncharacteristically inaccurate and seemed out of sync with his receivers at times, recording just four completions and 36 passing yards through three quarters.

He just kept grinding through the tough times and flipped a switch in the fourth quarter. Williams was awesome on consecutive drives to close this game, putting his team in position to win the game. His throw to D.J. Moore down the left sideline was as absolute dime, but his ability to keep grinding when things weren’t going well and show up big down the stretch is a thing the best quarterbacks do. That’s why, even on a subpar day overall, Williams still found a way to impress.

Eberflus, Allen and Williams on Caleb’s Week 8 performance

“That’s just us shooting ourselves in the foot and that comes from the details and focus in the game, throughout the week. That comes from myself. I was included in that for sure. Definitely missed a few passes that I don’t miss typically, and so it is tough. But very encouraging because we stayed in it. We scored zero points and then we came out in the second half and stayed in it. We got some momentum so it’s definitely encouraging, but we definitely have to be better in that first half and first quarter.” — Williams

“I thought his progressions got off him a little bit, but I’ll have to look at it, but again, the rhythm and timing that we’ve seen the last couple of weeks, you know, it could be guys that were covered or pressure in his face, whatever that may be, but again that’s an everybody thing. That’s a protection thing, that’s a route running thing, that’s a quarterback thing.” — Eberflus

Rookie rankings

Williams is among four rookie quarterbacks making regular starts for their respective teams at this time. Here are their overall stats through eight weeks:

Jayden Daniels (Washington): 148-of-206 passing (71.8 comp%), 1,736 yds, 7 TD, 2 INT, 8.4 ypa, 104.3 passer rating; 74 rushes, 424 yds, 4 TD; 17 sacks, 3 fumbles

Bo Nix (Denver): 165-of-261 passing (63.2 comp%), 1,530 yds, 8 TD, 5 INT, 5.9 ypa, 81.4 passer rating; 52 rushes, 259 yds, 4 TD; 11 sacks, 0 fumbles

Caleb Williams (Bears): 140-for-223 passing (62.8 comp%), 1,448 yds, 9 TD, 5 INT, 6.5 ypa, 85.6 passer rating; 35 rushes for 210 yds; 22 sacks, 3 fumbles

Drake Maye (Patriots)*: 53-of-84 passing (63.1 comp%), 564 yds, 5 TD, 2 INT, 6.7 ypa, 92.6 passer rating; 13 rushes, 114 yds; 4 sacks, 1 fumble

* Maye assumed the starter’s role in Week 6 and suffered a concussion in Week 8

Looking ahead

This is an important week for the Bears and their rookie quarterback. They need to respond well after losing a game on a Hail Mary that has dominated NFL-wide discussion since it happened. He needs to lead the team well, start faster and help orchestrate a complete offensive performance like the Bears put together in each segment of their three-game winning streak.

If he can do that, then the Commanders loss falls deeper into the rearview and the Bears can get back on track.

Williams on what comes next

“We have to be better in the first quarter. That starts with me coming out fast. That starts with us coming out fast. We keep getting the ball early on. We have a great defense to help us stay in it but we have to be better and play complementary football.” — Williams