INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Williams became the first rookie quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in 2024 three weeks into the NFL season.
Trailing by two scores midway through the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bears' 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Williams found fellow first-round rookie Rome Odunze in the corner of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown pass.
Williams ran to celebrate with Odunze, who said the two had previously talked about their first joint touchdown celebration. Odunze playfully handed the ball to Williams as the quarterback chased the receiver down the Bears' sideline while pretending to try to steal the ball from him.
Caleb or Roma? Who gets the ball? 😂 image.twitter.com/CAKdprZ2Hj
— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
The celebration was pure farce. After the match, there was no debate about who would keep the memory.
“We're going to cut it in half; he'll keep the right, I'll keep the left, like in the Twix factory,” Odunze joked. “But no, I think he's going to give me this one. He's going to have a lot of them in his career, a lot more than me, so he blessed me with this first one.”
Odunze finished with a team-high 112 receiving yards and one touchdown on six receptions. After Odunze totaled three catches for 44 yards in Chicago’s first two games while playing through a sprained MCL, Williams made a concerted effort to get the receiver more involved in the offense, leading to a team-high 11 total passes against him.
“I told Rome I'm going to give him the ball more,” Williams said. “I think some of the post-practice reps that Rome and I have been getting these last few weeks have paid off. And we're going to continue to do that because we obviously want to build that connection and have that trust and faith in each other.”
Chicago's loss to Indianapolis shed light on a handful of issues the offense is working through as it searches for an identity.
On Sunday, the rookie connection the Bears hoped would soon emerge in a game provided a ray of hope in the face of a painful loss.
“It's always good to be able to build that individual chemistry with [Williams] “So I can be an asset to this offense,” Odunze said. “But when it's not enough to get the win, it doesn't feel good. But making those plays together and continuing to improve will be good for us throughout the season.”
