Bears QB Caleb Williams' 45-yard, off-balance completion vs. Bengals another sign of massive potential

No matter how great the expectations are on Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams — and how wholeheartedly he has embraced and escalated them — he might need a little time to get rolling.

That was the case in a preseason game Saturday against the Bengals, and it was well worth the wait.

After failing to get a first down on the first three possessions, Williams ignited the offense with deep shots downfield near the end of the first half. The best of them was a beautiful ball down the left sideline to wide receiver Rome Odunze for 45 yards on his fifth possession.

Williams dropped back, looked right, then spun to his left for a clear view. He spotted Odunze a step behind cornerback Josh Newton and sailed the ball on the run, throwing off one leg with a little hop and placing it perfectly for an over-the-shoulder catch.

‘‘It was amazing,’’ wide receiver DJ Moore said. ‘‘You could see why he was the No. 1 overall pick just with that.

‘‘It’s just him going out there balling. He makes it look effortless.’’

General manager Ryan Poles talked before the draft about sorting quarterbacks into categories of artists and surgeons, and Williams painted a whimsically compelling abstract piece down the street from the Art Institute.

That was a pass Justin Fields couldn’t make. Neither could Mitch Trubisky or anyone else the Bears have sent out there in their recent parade of quarterback misadventures.

It was more reminiscent of a longtime nemesis, and Williams dared mention his name when he was asked how he managed to get enough power and accuracy into that pass from such an unconventional platform.

‘‘That’s a good question,’’ Williams said, pausing as though even he wasn’t quite sure. ‘‘It’s something that I’ve worked on in practice and watching Aaron Rodgers. I know he was a Green Bay guy — sorry, guys — but he can do unbelievable things.

‘‘Just practicing it over time, perfecting it. There’s gonna be times I don’t put it exactly where I want to, but today it worked out. Rome had a good exit plan from his route and got upfield and made a marvelous catch. I tried to just give him a shot.’’

Williams has referred to Rodgers before. And while he would maintain he isn’t following any template as he embarks on his NFL career, Williams has tried to adopt some of what he studied in Rodgers’ game while Rodgers dominated the Bears for 18 years.

Rodgers, now with the Jets, isn’t a runner. Neither is Williams. But both use their pocket presence to buy time and space to throw downfield. The issue with Fields was that he took off running too quickly and too often. That seems to be the last option for Williams.

‘‘You see him out there making people look silly? It’s elite,’’ Moore said of Williams’ awareness under pressure. ‘‘And he’s not looking to run first.’’

Williams did run for a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 7 two plays later, but even then it looked as though he went through at least four passing reads while outmaneuvering three defenders behind the line of scrimmage before racing to the end zone.

‘‘There’s a balance between throwing the ball on time and scrambling when you have to, and he has a good balance of that,’’ coach Matt Eberflus said.

Williams finished 6-for-13 for 75 yards after a 2-for-6 start while playing against the Bengals’ backups. The Bears went three-and-out on his first three possessions before breaking through for a field goal and a touchdown. He exited with a 10-0 lead.

It was Williams’ most extensive playing time in the preseason, and it might be his last game action until the regular-season opener Sept. 8 against the Titans. The Bears, who turned to backup Tyson Bagent to begin the third quarter and won 27-3, wrap up their preseason Thursday at the Chiefs.

The Bears have been asking for patience for four decades, especially at quarterback, but Williams’ steady growth since the start of training camp makes it purposeful. It doesn’t have that futile feeling of the past, when the Bears wondered whether things ever would click for their quarterback. Williams’ emergence as a prolific passer seems increasingly inevitable.

He’s getting sharper. He’s sensing pressure more perceptively. He’s decoding defenses.

‘‘You could just see him getting more comfortable with play-calls and figuring out what defense they’re in,’’ Moore said. ‘‘There’s gonna be a lot of tricky coverage with me, Keenan [Allen] and Rome on the field, so he’s gotta dissect that.’’

The game started to loosen up for Williams on the fourth possession, when he nearly connected on a deep pass to wide receiver Tyler Scott and picked up a 43-yard gain on a pass-interference penalty. He launched the ball up the middle from his own 34 to the Bengals’ 9. It appeared to be on target for Scott, who almost got a hand on it despite being knocked down from behind by Newton.

‘‘I was a little hurt because I really wanted that,’’ Williams said. ‘‘Tyler ran a great route. The corner tried to overplay and ended up sitting flat-footed, and Tyler ran right by him.

‘‘I think he makes the catch [if not for the penalty]. I tried to give him enough air to run under it. I think he would’ve ran under it and scored a touchdown.’’

Williams’ development won’t always be linear. It’ll be chaotic at times, and the Bears will have to live with that.

On the play before his strike to Odunze, Williams threw a pass to the left side. It was unclear whom he targeted as the ball flew over Odunze’s head but landed well short of tight end Gerald Everett.

They don’t all have to be masterpieces. Not right away, at least.

The Bears have enough talent on both sides of the ball to allow Williams some margin for error as he grows. He needs to be smart without being cautious. He’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t, and there surely will be some regrettably overconfident throws along the way.

But there also will be some such as those he threw Saturday.