Williams completed three straight passes to start the possession, connecting with tight end Colston Loveland for 8 yards in the right flat, 29 yards to tight end Cole Kmet over the middle and 6 yards to receiver DJ Moore in the left flat.
After a holding penalty, Williams hit Loveland for 18 yards and then rifled a slant pass to Zaccheaus, who caught the ball at the 29 before eluding a diving tackle attempt by safety Damar Hamlin and outracing two defenders to the end zone.
“We didn’t have the best field position to get started there,” said coach Ben Johnson. “So I thought those guys did a really nice job of marching it down the field. Caleb made a couple big-time throws to keep that drive going and some explosive plays there. It was good to see.”
The long touchdown drive was exactly how Williams wanted to start the game.
“It sets the tone for us as a team,” he said. “It sets a tone for how we expect ourselves to play and go out and perform. It was extremely important.”
Williams exited in favor of Tyson Bagent after playing two series and completing 6 of 10 passes for 130 yards with 1 TD and a 130.0 passer rating.
Johnson lauded Williams for how he performed in recent practices—including Friday’s joint workout with the Bills—as well as in Sunday night’s game.
“He’s really been locked in,” Johnson said. “Anytime you’re a young player, there’s usually a couple steps forward and one step back and that’s really been the story of his training camp. He and I have been really open and honest about that as we’ve gone through. He’s had some really good practices, and he’s had a couple where it’s like, ‘That isn’t good enough bud.’ I thought really the three days of practice we had this week and this game were the most he’s stacked up good days in a row right now. The challenge is going to be to keep pushing in that direction.”
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