Coach Ben Johnson was fully confident in Caleb Williams leading a game-winning touchdown drive late in Sunday's contest against the Raiders.
Trailing 24-19 with 6:45 remaining, the Bears took over at their own 31. Williams proceeded to complete 4 of 5 passes for 42 yards and rush for 19 yards on two carries to set up D'Andre Swift's go-ahead 2-yard touchdown run with 1:34 to play.
Johnson believed in Williams because the coach has watched him excel in two-minute situations in practice since the two started working together in the offseason.
Williams also demonstrated his ability to step up in crunch time in last year's season finale in Green Bay when he engineered a 6-play, 47-yard drive that resulted in Cairo Santos' winning 52-yard field goal as time expired. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft completed 3 of 4 passes for 45 yards to set up the kick.
"I think it's just the confidence that I've had in myself through the hard work that I've put into myself and my work and my craft," Williams said Tuesday at Halas Hall. "It's just grown over the years. It started when I was younger.
"Those moments, you go through a whole game and there's not many things that the [defense] is going to show you differently in those moments. I feel more comfortable in those moments. I think my heart rate drops. Everything kind of settles in. It's gotta-have-it moments. I think I've done a good job with that over my career in those gotta-have-it moments, and I think it comes from the hard work throughout the week, the belief in teammates, things like that."
Building a bond
The strong working relationship that Williams has formed with Johnson has been a key factor in the quarterback's early-season success. Through four games, Williams is tied for third in the NFL with eight TD passes.
"It's been really consistent," Johnson said. "We don't really waver, either one of us. We meet every day, and we go over the plan. We go over things that are on our mind. It's really critical for our relationship that we continue to have open and honest communication, and we've been very good with that.
"On game day, I trust that he's put in the preparation, and I just let him go out there and play ball. We stress them enough over the course of training camp and over the course of a weekly practice schedule that come game day, this thing should be free and flow free for him. And I think that's really what he adheres to."
Golden opportunity
First-year pro Theo Benedet showed his versatility in Sunday's 25-24 win over the Raiders, starting at right tackle before moving to left tackle in the second quarter when rookie Ozzy Trapilo was inserted into the game at right tackle.
Benedet played 11 snaps on offense against the Lions in Week 2 and 12 versus the Cowboys in Week 3 before being on the field for all 68 plays in Las Vegas.
"It's been a great opportunity, also to play both sides," Benedet said. "That can be a challenge sometimes, but it also helps me continue to stay prepared and stay comfortable on both sides, because as hard as it is to transition to that [left] side in the first place, if you don't keep taking reps there, you'll lose that muscle memory."
Part of the same 2024 rookie class, Williams has enjoyed working with Benedet, a native Canadian who went viral last summer when he appeared on the HBO series "Hard Knocks" singing "God Bless the USA" during a team meeting.
"It's been fun being around Theo personality-wise," Williams said. "His personality is great. Awesome human outside of football, and then when you get on the football field, [he's] always willing to learn. He's grown tremendously [physically], but also mentally about football. Kudos to him having that mindset of, 'I'm going to keep growing. I'm not in a position I want to be in and when my opportunity comes, that's when I'll shine.'"
