This is a different Chicago Bears team. Ben Johnson knows it. Caleb Williams knows it. And the NFL is beginning to know it as a dormant giant franchise eyes perennial playoff contention.Â
Williams has been swarmed by soaring expectations since entering the league, such is the life of a consensus long-known No 1-pick quarterback. He remains imperfect, and yet he continues to win after guiding Chicago to a 31-28 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
It marks the team's eighth win in the last nine and leaves them 8-3 at the top of the NFC North in a blossoming new chapter under first-year head coach Johnson.
He had taken the job at Soldier Field primarily to work with Williams. The marriage has been gradual, and chinks are still evident, but the signs are increasingly promising for a resilient Bears team finding new ways to win.
"I evaluate quarterbacks by their execution in moments, the red zone tells you everything you need to now about this guy's day," said SportNews NFL's Jason Bell.
"Caleb Williams is evolving in front of our eyes, he's getting better every week and building on this momentum, understands offenses, he is seeing how defenses are trying to defend him, you can see by his playmakers' execution they know he'll get them the ball.
"This guy can deliver. This guy will be a top-five quarterback, he wins the moments, he has the arm talent and can execute at the top level, it was exciting.
"They [Bears fans in Soldier Field] had hope, it was rocking, they had a team, a quarterback."
Williams finished the game 19 of 35 for 239 yards and three touchdowns having seen question marks over his accuracy resurface in recent weeks. Sunday delivered further signs of his playmaking creativity to stretch and disrupt defenses outside of the pocket, as well as he and Johnson's growing understanding of how to dictate the tempo of games.
Williams was also guilty of misfires, misreads and a bizarre end zone sack-turned-touchdown, being the first to admit the need to "get better" after the game.
"Wins are hard to come by, he'll let them celebrate but he'll point out the things they left on the field to let them know they are a much better team than they saw today," said Bell of Johnson.
Six of Chicago's victories this season have come by one score, including five fourth-quarter comebacks. They are learning that games last 60 minutes for a reason.
"It feels good to be 8-3 at this point, we've made it interesting every game but we've come out with the dub eight times and we're looking for more," wide receiver Rome Odunze told SportNews NFL.
"The red zone has been an emphasis, when we get down there we need touchdowns, we executed in a proper fashion down there today.
"We're living in the know, we know when we're coming out here we'll find a way to win.
"We're right where we want to be. Got some tough opponents but looking forward to knocking them down one by one."
Sunday's win also underlined the ability for Johnson and Williams to lean on their defense as Eric Washington's unit held off Pittsburgh down the stretch. Nahshon Wright produced a stunning sideline interception early in the game to lift his tally to five on the year, tied for first in the league with Bears safety Kevin Byard ahead of teammate Tremaine Edmunds with four.
Byard, playing in his 10th season in the NFL, is playing some of his best football as a valuable veteran presence.
"We stood up to the challenge, when the offense sputtered we had it's back and it was complementary," Byard told SportNews NFL.
"It's always about trying to be the calm in the storm, we had a lot of pieces, I was trying to communicate as much as possible.
"There will be a lot of dancing, partying, celebrating, screaming. We are 8-3, it doesn't happen that often, you have to celebrate a win.
"We have a short week, we got Philly Friday night. It's about being battle tested, we've faced adversity so many times, culture isn't defined until you face adversity. We know we can go into our back pocket and pull it out every time."
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