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Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff WriterNov 4, 2024, 12:32 AM ET
- Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams hurt his left ankle late in Chicago’s 29-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday but appears to have avoided a serious injury.
“I landed wrong and just kind of tweaked it and [on] the last play, the dude grabbed my ankle and gator rolled,” Williams said. “Tried to get off of it because when you stay on it, that’s when bad stuff starts to happen and [it] breaks and all of that. Tried to just let my body go so I could fall and roll with him.”
Williams got twisted up by Arizona’s defensive front after completing a 6-yard pass to Keenan Allen on the final play of the game. The quarterback got up slowly and walked off the field with a noticeable limp.
After the game, Williams said he was “OK.” Coach Matt Eberflus echoed a similar sentiment.
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“He limped off there a little bit,” Eberflus said. “When he came in, [he] looked to be fine. We’ll check him in the morning.”
Despite trailing by 20 points when Chicago’s offense took the field for its final drive with 2:15 remaining, four of the Bears’ last five plays were called passes. Eberflus said the Bears kept Williams in the game despite it being a blowout because they were “getting work and getting timing on the two-minute operation” for the offense.
When asked whether he felt he should have been playing in a game that was already decided, Williams said it was not his decision.
“You fight to the end of the game, if you’re in the game,” Williams said. “If not, [the] coach makes a decision like that. You have to deal with it and figure out the next steps. But yeah, not my decision.”
Sunday marked the first time in eight games the Bears did not score a touchdown. Williams completed 22 of 41 pass attempts for 217 yards with no turnovers and a 68.9 passer rating.
After back-to-back losses in Washington and Arizona, Eberflus acknowledged that Chicago’s offensive issues fall on him.
“[I take] full responsibility for that,” Eberflus said. “We’ll work with the offensive staff tomorrow morning as we watch this tape tonight and find answers. Find answers for running the ball, first. Making sure you do that and setting everything off of that. Then making sure we have good actions off of that to start. On first and second down.
“Then … making sure our protection is clean. When you protect your quarterback — and our quarterback’s a good quarterback — he can get the ball down the field and do a good job there.”
