Chicago’s comeback magic and Caleb Williams growth fueling playoff push

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears have been fun to watch this season. They have won five games after being down with two minutes or less left, the most of any team in the league.

While that is not how Chicago ideally wants to win games, head coach Ben Johnson said these wins show the grit of this team.

“That’s been a huge part of our season so far where late in the game there that we’ve been able to pull it out at the end and I think it speaks volumes about how they’re wired mentally,” Johnson said. “We know we’re not out of it. Every minute within that 60 minutes is really important for us and I think what’s come to fruition is just the fact that these are a bunch of mentally tough guys and they step up to the plate when the pressure’s on. So, I think that’s what we’ve seen so far.”

Perhaps the most important part of this season was the development of quarterback Caleb Williams. His rookie season was essentially a wash as he was surrounded by coaches that did not adequately teach him.

However, Johnson has seen improvement from Williams as this season has progressed even if that progression is not always reflected in his numbers.

“I see improvement and I think that’s what excites you about any player is you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse and I see a guy that is getting significantly better every week whether the stats look that way or not. From a coach’s lens, I think we feel it. The approach is very sound with what he’s doing right now day-in (and) day-out,” Johnson said. “It’s very difficult to be consistent in this league with how you go about your business and yet, I think he’s done a really nice good job of taking a lot of information and being able to apply it in a short amount of time and so, that’s the starting point to me with him. I think we’re going to continue to see him play faster, play with more anticipation the more he gets reps with these particular plays, (the) ones that we feature the most and so, I’m very pleased right now with where he’s at.”

Part of his progression has been being able to rely on the run game more. It took a few games to get going, but Chicago has been one of the better running offenses in the NFL since coming off of their bye week.

In fact, the Bears have the most rushing yards per game and yards before contact on designed runs out of any team in the league since the bye week, according to Next Gen Stats.

“The longer you hang on and stick with that run game, eventually you’re going to start popping them. I’ve got confidence in our group. I got confidence in the plan that we put together and I know that the longer we got that eventually, we can start to wear down defenses that way,” Johnson said. “The game doesn’t always go that way. We’ll do whatever we need to do to score points and win there at the end. But, certainly, that does come to mind is we don’t want to get too far away from that.”

Chicago’s overall offensive improvement can be attributed to the drastic change in the offensive line from last season to now. Right tackle Darnell Wright is the only player from last season who is still on the starting lineup. Guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson were acquired in trades during the offseason, while center Drew Dalman was signed in free agency.

Building the offensive line and having a strong run game was important for Johnson to establish as part of Chicago’s offensive identity, given the division the Bears play in.

“When you’re in this particular division, you know you’re playing outside. It’s called the black and blue division for a reason. You know what these opponents are going to look like. I think it’s important to have a strong running game so that we can win these games, potentially in poor weather late in the season and so, I do think that was kind of the vision of us acquiring Joe Thuney and Jonah (Jackson) and Drew (Dalman) and bringing those guys into the fold,” Johnson said. “If we need to lean into the run, then we have that ability. At the same time, we’ve got the flexibility to pivot and if we need to throw the ball 50 times a game or win the game in a two-minute or in third down, then we’ve got the playmakers to do that as well. So, I think that’s what makes us really dangerous is we have all those options on the table each and every week.”

The Bears will need to rely on their offensive line going against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sun, Nov. 23 (Noon / CBS). Pittsburgh has one of the most ferocious defenses in the NFL. However, left tackle Theo Benedet is questionable with a quad injury. If he cannot play, rookie Ozzy Trapilo may be the next man up.