After dominating Cleveland, Bears move on to Packers rematch

Sunday’s 31-3 win over Cleveland was as close as the Bears have come to playing a perfect game this season. Quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense hummed for most of the day, the defense put up another dominant performance and special teams put both sides of the ball in positions to succeed.

Now the Bears turn their attention to the final three games of the regular season and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. It starts Saturday night with the Green Bay Packers in a revenge game at Soldier Field.

Here are three of the most interesting things Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Monday.

On Williams’ comfort level

Sunday wasn’t Williams’ best statistical performance of the season. But Williams passed the eye test and had his best game since the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Williams looked in control from the start despite battling freezing temperatures. He fitted passes to his targets and used play-action to his advantage for explosive throws. Williams threw for 242 yards and completed 60.7% of his passes, though both numbers could’ve been higher because of a few dropped passes.

“He’s taking the drop, his eyes are in the right spot,” Johnson said. “I think he kind of was anticipating what coverages they were going to be in, and that was able to help him speed up his play and get through his progressions a little bit cleaner, too. So, yeah, I thought it was a good week for him, a step in the right direction.”

Williams showed comfort with his mechanics despite facing one of the tougher defensive pass rushes in the NFL, led by defensive end Myles Garrett. The Browns sacked Williams three times — Garrett had 1.5 — and finished with seven quarterback hits. But Williams still managed to get through his progressions and threw the ball away when he faced trouble.

Johnson credited the offensive line and the rest of the offense for executing the Bears’ plan to avoid pressure and allow Williams to make plays.

“He was comfortable,” Johnson said of Williams. “He did a great job. It’s a hard thing to do, be comfortable when the pass rush is like that. You know that Myles Garrett gets all the attention but across the board they do a great job collapsing that pocket. He has a lot of confidence in his protection unit up front. Thought those guys did a good job.”

On finding defensive fits

A couple off-the-radar acquisitions played a big role in Sunday’s win.

Linebacker D’Marco Jackson made a game-sealing play when he intercepted Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the third quarter and gave the Bears the ball deep in Browns territory. Williams darted a touchdown to DJ Moore on the next play. Cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson also intercepted a pass later that led to a Bears field goal.

The Bears claimed Jackson off waivers in August after he had played under Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans. Chicago signed Gardner-Johnson in October because of his familiarity with Johnson and Allen.

The Bears’ reliance on prior experience has played a role in overcoming defensive injuries. Cornerback Nahshon Wright has been the prime example of that. He’s having a Pro Bowl-caliber season after the team signed him in the offseason because of his connection to Bears defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator Al Harris.

“That helps because you have coaches that know the personnel intimately from the get-go, and those guys also have a little bit of a grasp of the scheme as well,” Johnson said. “So, it helps to hit the ground running like that, but all three of those individuals have made significant contributions to the team and to our defense over the course of the season.”

On injuries

Chicago had a mixed bag of injury news Monday.

The team opened linebacker Tremaine Edmunds’ 21-day practice window to come off injured reserve. Chicago placed him on injured reserve last month with a groin injury and Edmunds missed the Bears’ last four games.

Johnson didn’t give a definitive answer regrading wide receiver Rome Odunze’s foot injury. Odunze was expected to return Sunday after missing one game. But he reaggravated the injury before the game.

“All options are on the table,” Johnson said. “We’re going to do what’s best for Rome first and foremost. I know he wants to be out there and helping. It’s hard to tell him no sometimes. He just wants to be out on the field competing and contributing and helping our team win. So there may be a case where we have to protect him from himself a little bit and just make sure we get him right and he’ll be able to help us down the road.”

Johnson also didn’t have much clarity on rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III. He left Sunday’s game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and never returned. He was having one of his best games of the season, finishing with 84 receiving yards on six catches.