Bears News: Johnson praises Caleb Williams’ calm under pressure

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - Every coach has a preference for when they want the bye week to be.

Some like a late bye, but Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson actually prefers the early bye, as it provides the chance for everyone to take a step back and assess how they can improve going into the rest of the year.

“(The) bye week’s coming at a good time and we’re really going to be able to take a good look at ourselves and do a little soulsearching,” Johnson said. “It’s always good when you play that poorly and you’re still able to come away with a win, and so, I think our guys are going to be able to bounce back from this.”

This bye week also gives Johnson a week to look back at some of the things quarterback Caleb Williams has done well and things he can improve on after the first four games.

Johnson and Williams have already developed a strong rapport throughout the spring and training camp, and in these past two games, the progress Williams has made has started to show.

“We meet everyday and we go over the plan. We go over things that are on our mind. I think it’s really critical for our relationship that we continue to have open and honest communication and so, we’ve been very good with that. On game day, I trust that he’s put in the preparation and I just let him go out there and play ball,” Johnson said. “We stress them enough over the course of training camp and over the course of a weekly practice schedule that come gameday, this thing should be free and flow free for him and I think that’s really what he adheres to. So, when the game’s on the line like that, a lot of people, their heartbeats start to go a little bit faster. His (heart rate) tends to slow down a little bit, and he really embraces that role.”

In college and the NFL, Williams appears to excel under pressure. When the game is on the line, he is at his best. This showed at times in his rookie year. However, the Bears were unable to capitalize on his heroics at times.

Finally, against the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday, all three phases were playing complementary football. Williams led the game-winning drive, the defense forced the Raiders into a long field goal with time still on the clock for the offense if needed, and cornerback Josh Blackwell blocked the kick.

He received the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for that play.

“(Williams) has a knack of finding the open guy. He has a knack of extending the play when needed and so, it’s almost like that little bit of pressure you put on him, he just thrives in and he really excels. So, that’s been consistent ever since we came into this building and so, I’m not surprised that it turned out that way. He was really good at the end of the first half. He was really good at the end of the game,” Johnson said. “I thought both sides of the ball, really all three phases, they really did a heck of a job. Before halftime, we got a field goal and then we prevented them from having a rebuttal drive and at the end of the game, getting the touchdown, getting the lead and then defense forcing them into a long field goal attempt and obviously with Josh Blackwell coming through for us at the end. They all played off of each other and you really couldn’t end the first half or the end of the game any better than that.”

After the bye week, the Chicago Bears will play in their second prime-time game of the year when they take on the Washington Commanders on Mon, Oct 13 (7:15 p.m. / ABC). Chicago fans certainly remember how this game ended last season and are looking for a different result this time around.