Bears encouraged by QB Williams' growth in loss

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears exited Week 2 with major questions about their defense after giving up 52 points to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Lost in the blowout that marked Chicago's (0-2) second NFC North loss in six days, however, was improvement from quarterback Caleb Williams.

In his second game under coach Ben Johnson, Williams threw for 207 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing 63.3% of his passes. The Bears have scored a touchdown on the offense's opening possession in back-to-back weeks, something that did not happen during Williams' rookie season.

"I did see significant growth," Johnson said. "It's not perfect yet. There's still a number of plays where our eyes aren't quite in the right position or we're holding onto the ball just a tick longer than what we're coaching. But I did see tremendous growth in terms of going through the progression. There were a few times there where we had to get to number three or four in the read and he was trusting his feet and his footwork and was able to get there."

Williams was at his best on in-rhythm dropbacks, where he released the ball between 2.5 and 4.0 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. Williams completed 14 of his 21 attempts for 191 yards and two touchdowns on such dropbacks, compared to 5 of 9 for 16 yards and an interception on quick or extended pass attempts.

The former No. 1 pick connected with receiver Rome Odunze on both of his touchdown passes, bringing their total to three through two games. While there are several areas that both Johnson and the quarterback felt he needed to improve -- like throwing the ball out of bounds in the second quarter instead of trying to fit a throw down the sideline to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, which resulted in an interception -- the quarterback feels progress will show up with more reps.

"I think it's just [the offense] being consistent," Williams said. "In the way of our technique -- the plays that are called. And going out there and being technical about it and beating the man in front of you. That includes myself. I think we just do that over and over and over again. Don't try to create any explosive plays. Don't try to be superman and they'll come. Everybody just did their one-eleventh and we keep moving on."

Accuracy was an issue for Williams during the Bears' 27-24 season opening loss to the Vikings. His completion percentage dropped from 81% in the first half (13-of-16) to 42% in the second half while his off-target percentage (29.4%) was the worst among all quarterbacks in Week 1.

Williams said last week that some off-target throws might be related to his footwork and being hesitant instead of "letting it rip."

"I mean first game, I missed a couple passes," Williams said. "I think [against Detroit], hit some key passes and didn't feel like anything was off. My footwork was solid and was hitting my guys, so I think I've got to go look at the tape and figure out this game how I can help us physically and mentally maybe on the sideline or something. Or talking to the guys, whatever the case may be."

Still, there's work to be done to get Williams performing at his best consistently. The Lions pressured the Bears quarterback on 43.2% of his dropbacks, and it led to Williams taking four sacks. Chicago was flagged six times on offense, including two false starts and two holding penalties. The Bears didn't convert on two fourth-down attempts, including a quarterback sneak, and turned the ball over twice.

"With a team like that on the other side, they make you pay..." Williams said.

The stakes of another game with a revenge angle are high entering Week 3. The Bears welcome the Dallas Cowboys and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to town on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX) 10 months after the former Bears coach was fired during Williams' rookie season.

The goal for Johnson as he prepares his quarterback for a defensive coordinator who knows him well is to build on the steady improvement he's seen through two games.

"I did think he got better from Week 1 to Week 2," Johnson said. "I'm encouraged by what I saw and I'm hopeful that we'll continue to see another leap here this week."