LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Rome Odunze could sense Caleb Williams was in trouble.

The Bears quarterback had been sacked twice in as many plays and couldn’t take another one, so Williams scrambled to his right searching for a target.

Odunze broke off his route, found some open space and briefly raised his hand. Williams saw it and delivered a strike on third-and 19 that didn’t exceed the first-down marker.

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The Bears were in gotta-have-it mode near the end of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. They needed three more yards on fourth down and got 21 to put the Bears in field goal range.

While we know Cairo Santos’ attempt didn’t go right, but the play setting it up did. Williams trusted Odunze would win a one-on-one matchup outside, and threw a back shoulder pass right away that his receiver caught.

“Rome has made plays for me over and over again,” Williams said. “Right in that moment, the dude was pressed on him, Rome won fast, his hand went up. I saw that. At that point, the DB is in trying-to-catch-up mode. It’s either going to be a completion or it’s going to be DPI. I made sure to give Rome a chance at the ball. Obviously, he went out there and made a great play.”

Williams said he trusted Odzune in that do-or-die moment. He believed the receiver would win the route and make a clutch play.

Such faith wasn’t given. It has been earned between a pair of rookie top 10 picks who will be working together a long, long time. They’re contractually tied to the Bears, likely, for five years at least.

That’s an acknowledged fact between both guys, who have worked hard to establish a quick chemistry built to last. That comes with lots of extra post-practice reps. That started while learning a new offense and about the NFL life at the same time.

This shared experience has bonded them already and should help maintain a productive partnership.

“I think it’s just all of the above, from hanging out to playing video games with each other to communicating and coming in at the same time and learning all this together, helping each other throughout this time,” Williams said. “Being able to have all these little moments, when those big moments happen, you kind of have an idea, trust and belief that you’re all on the same page.”

Odunze believes, over time, the memories of Sunday’s clutch connections won’t rank high. There’s bigger and better ahead for this pairing, a rare combination of quarterback and receiver from the same draft taken in the top 10.

Odunze and Williams knew of each other while playing in the Pac-12, and had met briefly but a few times during the pre-draft process. The getting-to-know-you process started here with Chicago.

“It’s everything, our connection and building that chemistry,” Odunze said. “I can’t have great games without him and hopefully he can’t have great games without me. But he’s doing his thing back there and, when he’s believing in me, it’s something that gives me confidence and allows me to go out there and play free and fast.”

There are short-term goals achieved this season, but there are long-range aspirations among them to stand out among the greats.

“We’re just in the beginning phase, in the infancy stage of this thing,” Odunze said. “I have big aspirations and dreams and goals. So, looking back on some of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos is something that is at the top of my goal sheet along with Caleb.

“I think we’re just in the infancy of this thing, being able to make those plays. You’ve got to win Super Bowls together, you’ve gotta go do big things.”

We’re a million miles from considering Williams-to-Odunze among Aikman-to-Irvin, Manning-to-Harrison, Montana-to-Rice or even Burrow-to-Chase, but there’s motivation to work hard and stay committed to the little details that lead to championships and massive production.

“It keeps you invested, 100 percent,” Odunze said. “You’re always dialed in, because there won’t be many situations that we’re both not in. Building that trust and working hard for one another is important as well. I want to be an asset to Caleb achieving his goals and he wants to be the same thing for me. When have the certainty of playing a long time together, you’ve heavily invested in making the partnership work.