The pairing of Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams might not be going as smoothly as some expected through two weeks, but despite the Bears' 0-2 start, Johnson has been encouraged by what he's seen from the second-year quarterback.
Over his first two weeks, Williams is 40-of-65 (61.2%) for 417 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. He and the Bears have lost their first two games thanks to the Vikings' miraculous fourth quarter comeback and then a 52-21 drubbing from the Lions.
On Monday, Johnson acknowledged there's naturally still areas for Williams to improve, but that he likes the growth he has seen from his young signal-caller during that span.
"I did see significant growth," Johnson said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. "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. I did think he got better from Week 1 to Week 2. I’m encouraged by what I saw and I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to see another leap here this week."
Though Williams's numbers and the outcomes of their games won't impress, he has made several nice plays and shown a growing connection wide second-year wideout Rome Odunze.
As a whole, Williams and the Bears of course need greater consistency. Chicago committed two turnovers and kept getting behind the sticks versus the Lions, which made it even harder to keep up with Detroit's dynamic attack. The Bears' run game and defense haven't done Williams many favors either, especially over the last five quarters.
Williams and the Bears have a long ways to go, but for Johnson, these two losses won't overshadow the growth he's seen from his quarterback so far.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ben Johnson Gives Honest Evaluation of Caleb Williams's Play Through Two Weeks.
