Caleb Williams 'two steps forward, one step back' in training camp, impresses Ben Johnson with preseason debut

Caleb Williams was outstanding in his preseason debut with a 6-for-10 performance for 107 yards and a touchdown. He led a 97-yard scoring drive and capped it off with a 36-yard strike for his first touchdown under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. It was one of the highlights of the summer for Williams, who said he is better now than he was at the beginning of the camp, albeit with some bumps in the road along the way.

Adjusting to a new system comes with its challenges, especially for a young quarterback. Hiccups in camp were probably always to be expected. But the preseason performance was a good sign with regard to Williams' chances of making a second-year leap with the Bears.

"He's really been locked in," Johnson said after the 38-0 drubbing of the Bills. "Anytime you're a young player, there's usually a couple steps forward and one step back. That's really been the story of his training camp. He and I have been really open and honest about that as we've gone through. He's had some really good practices, and then he had a couple where it's like, 'That's not good enough, bud.' I thought really the three days of practice we had this week and this game were the most he's stacked up good days in a row right now. The challenge is going to be to keep pushing in that direction."

Williams completed five of his six pass attempts on the 97-yard touchdown drive, opening his night in style. He also delivered a couple of key throws, like the 36-yard completion to Olamide Zaccheaus and a 29-yard dime to tight end Cole Kmet. Those plays lessened the pain of some of Williams' tougher days on the practice field.

"I had a couple of those practices throughout training camp where I feel like I took two steps forward," Williams said. "Maybe a bad practice or small things that I felt like I got over. And then I took a step back."

The marriage between Williams and Johnson's offensive system could be a match made in heaven. Johnson orchestrated some of the best units in the league during his coordinator stint in Detroit. If his scheme helps Williams improve from a solid but hardly elite rookie year, the Heisman Trophy winner might be off to the races.

"To a month ago, I think I've grown a lot," said Williams. "Now my mindset is 'keep growing.' That's been my mindset since I've been a little child, is to keep growing. Where I see myself, the idea is to be able to handle every single thing that I can and everything that Ben says that I should be able to handle."