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Caleb Williams: “I didn’t have enough tempo” at the end of Thanksgiving game

A week ago, Chicago finished its Thanksgiving matchup against Detroit in embarrassing fashion when time expired on the offense with a timeout still to use.

Former head coach Matt Eberflus’ role in the debacle was obvious and he was fired the next day. But quarterback Caleb Williams also took accountability for what went wrong during his press conference on Wednesday.

“I didn’t have enough tempo at the end of the game,” Williams said. “Definitely in that moment, didn’t have enough tempo getting the guys lined up. Them seeing my urgency, I was moving well but not as urgent as I should have — understanding the situation. At the end of the game, I also could have understood the situation a little bit better, the play call. I thought when we called that last play it was a no-huddle play, we wanted to get lined up and I saw the clock winding down. Wanted to try to take a shot at the end zone because I was expecting it to be our last play in that moment. We were actually trying to get back in field goal range. Just not on the same page in that situation.

“Definitely can learn from it, definitely will learn from it. Realizing that when we march back down — after the sack we’re trying to get back in field goal range and call a timeout. Just being on the same page of what the situation was. Being on the same page as to what we are actually going to do. Whether it’s using the time out after that last play getting a first down getting that yardage back or [calling] timeout right after the sack — whatever the case may be. Just in total being on the same page [as] the coach.”

While Williams is right that he and his coaches could’ve been more on the same page, it’s also on the head coach to make sure the team is prepared for every situation. Eberflus failed at that task, and it’s a significant part of why he is no longer with Chicago.