The next area of focus in Bears QB Williams’ development is going deep

The Bears are riding high with momentum. They have won three straight games with comebacks in the final minutes to improve to 7-3 and are atop the NFC North. All three phases of the game have contributed in different ways for the Bears to go on their unexpected run.

On Sunday the Bears will try to keep things going against the Steelers, with or without quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Thursday.

On developing Caleb Williams’ deep-ball efficiency

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense failed to build any momentum at the beginning of Sunday’s game. The unit went three-and-out on its opening two possessions, while the Minnesota Vikings grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Both drives stalled because of missed deep throws attempted on third down. Williams first overthrew wide receiver Rome Odunze by a step on a deep shot, then missed DJ Moore again on third down by about 5 yards.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson said earlier in the week that those throws, particularly the one to Odunze, are ones that Williams will want back.

Connecting on deeper throws is one of the few steps the Bears want Williams to take in his development. But multiple others need to happen at the same time.

“When we have opportunities and shots down the field where we feel like we have a guy with separation, it’s on both the wideouts and the quarterback to be able to go handle that,” Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said Thursday. “And also, we want him to be able to start playing through those progressions when those things don’t present themselves, to be able to expedite his process to get the ball underneath.”

Williams has struggled with deep-ball accuracy. He’s completed 33.3% of his passes of more than 20 yards for 514 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, according to Pro Football Focus.

Part of improving those numbers will be putting Williams in better positions to throw contested passes. Johnson and Williams said this week that they don’t like 50-50 balls. But coaches evaluate what they see each week to come up with a play call where Williams can succeed with explosive throws.

“I think it’s a little bit of an evaluation during the week of how comfortable are you throwing that specific route to that player and then getting a look from whether it’s our scout-team defense or we’re going against our first-team defense and getting used to those concepts and kind of that yes/no of when you pull the trigger on some of those routes,” Doyle said. “That’s the biggest thing, and it changes week to week because the game plan changes week to week, but it’s that comfort level that you’re trying to get him to on Sunday, where he can go out there and he doesn’t have to think, he can just go execute.”

On the secondary plan

The Bears are set to get some reinforcements for a secondary that’s been injured for most of the season. That could lead to some tough decisions in terms of playing time.

Chicago activated the practice windows for cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon over the past week. Johnson has missed all but one game this season, while Gordon has only played in two. Both could be eligible to return as soon as this week, although no announcement had been made as of Thursday.

That will leave the coaching staff with some tough decisions. Cornerback Nahshon Wright is having a career year with four interceptions, while cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson has stepped in well in the three games since the team signed him.

“We’ll figure that out,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “Give us as many good football players as you can give us. That’s our job — to figure out how to get ‘em on the field and put ‘em in positions to make plays. We’ve always been excited about being able to do that and work with those guys.”

Jaylon Johnson will take his spot back once he’s fully healthy, while Gordon should do the same after the team paid him over the offseason. But Allen and his staff could find different uses for both Wright and Gardner-Johnson once they’re taken out of the starting lineup.

“I think all those guys have flexibility in terms of what they can do,” Allen said. “It’s been fun getting up there and looking through what we can do and how we can utilize each and every one of those guys, and have all those guys on the field at the same time.”

On special teams criticism

Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels made some headlines earlier this week when he said “anybody” could’ve made the return Devin Duvernay had at the end of Sunday’s game to set up the game-winning field goal.

Some Bears players brought up the comments to Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. But Hightower didn’t seem bothered by it when he spoke Thursday.

“I don’t see it any way,” Hightower said. “I see the ball kicked off to us. Ball in our hand and we had an opportunity to make a play, and it’s kudos to our guys that went out there and executed our technique, executed our scheme, executed our call. I’m not sure what the perception is or anything like that. I mean, all I know is positivity in our room. And we know when there is time on the clock, don’t give us a chance. That’s what we know. Anytime there is time on the clock, don’t give us a chance, offense, defense or special teams.”

Hightower stuck with the positives when talking about how his team regrouped on Sunday. Duvernay made a big kickoff return. Kicker Cairo Santos redeemed himself after missing a field goal earlier in the game and set the team’s franchise record for most kicks made of 50 or more yards.

Special teams has made both good and bad impacts this season. Hightower was focused on the good ahead of the Steelers.

“We’re going to have to be ready to rock and roll this week, all right, if we want anything to happen this week like it did last week,” Hightower said. “I’m just happy for our players, but we turned the page and we are worrying about the Steelers. That’s the only thing we can worry about, is going 1-0 this week.”