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Terry McAulay says officials missed roughing the passer penalty on Caleb Williams vs. Rams

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko01/19/26nickkosko59

If Caleb Williams had any gripe on the first drive for the Chicago Bears, it would’ve been in the form of a roughing the passer penalty. As Williams drove the Bears against the Los Angeles Rams’ defense, he was picked off on fourth down near the goal line.

As Williams fired a pass, following a missed touchdown to Rome Odunze, it was intercepted. However, NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay claimed officials missed a blow to Williams’ head, which can be seen below.

“I believe it is,” McAulay said on the broadcast. “Forcible contact to the head, neck area is a foul for roughing the passer. Now, certainly that … is subjective. Officials on the field didn’t think it was. I believe that it is. It should have been a foul, 15-yard penalty.”

Not only that, Williams appeared to hurt his hand on the play. Sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung gave the latest as Williams apparently waved off any medical attention.

Officials missed roughing call on Caleb Williams

“Yeah, guys, we saw Caleb Williams clutching his throwing hand after he left the field,” Hartung said. “You see this hand to hand collision he had with the Rams’ Kobie Turner there. When he came off to the sideline, he didn’t receive any medical attention. He just shook it off. As you can see there, they threw a paper towel around him, handed him his tablet, and he started preparing for this next drive.”

It was a bitter end to the opening drive for Chicago, leaving with no points. Matthew Stafford and the Rams drove the length of the field on a 14-play, 85-yard drive resulting in a Kyren Williams touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 6:33 to go in the first quarter.

Caleb Williams led an epic comeback last week against the Green Bay Packers, winning 31-27. They trailed 21-3 at halftime against the rival at home in the Wild Card.

The Bears’ appearance in the NFC Divisional Round was their first appearance in that round since the 2010 season, when they made the NFC Championship Game. Chicago is also searching for their first Super Bowl appearance since a run to Super Bowl XLI in 2006, a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.