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How Caleb Williams looks like a ‘new man’ in 2026 | 1-on-1 with Bears head coach Ben Johnson
The Chicago Bears are beginning Year 2 under Ben Johnson. They have a star quarterback and a division title under their belts. Cassie Carlson went 1-on-1 with Johnson, who explained his excitement for Luther Burden III, Caleb Williams' motivations and how Williams looks like a new man entering camp.
A day after the Chicago Bears quarterbacks stole the show at training camp, the defense got one back on the offense.
The weather conditions didn’t help, but the defense made it clear they were making more plays than the weather was affecting anything else.
Here’s what we saw from Bears training camp as the defense took over on "Wet Ball Day."
Defense Bounces Back:
The offense was dealing on Friday. The quarterbacks were stellar. The ball rarely touched the turf.
On Saturday, the defense flipped the script.
Practice began in the Walter Payton Center due to the weather, but moved back outside for the team drills. That’s where the defense settled in.
The offense has issues. They had two pre-snap penalties on Saturday, which doubled the amount pre-snap penalties the Bears’ offense had the last two days of practice, and they had bad drops. Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond had drops on passes they should have caught.
But, the defense made plays.
Coby Bryant was all over the field. He had an interception where he strafed from the numbers to the middle of the field to intercept Caleb Williams. Bryant also had a pass breakup that could've been an interception.
The defense followed Bryant's lead. Jack Sanborn nearly intercepted a Williams' pass. Jaylon Johnson and Jaylon Jones also had stellar pass break ups, too.
The first-team defense put an exclamation point on the day when they forced the first-team offense into a three-and-out in the situational two-minute drill. Williams targeted Burden on three-straight plays, and all three passes were incomplete.
The defense rallied on Saturday with a stellar day highlighted by its playmakers The defense was ready for the weather, and the offense wasn’t.
The defensive players that return, like Johnson, are getting used to some of the new additions, like Bryant and rookie Dillon Thieneman. But, Johnson still sees the defense, which struggled against some of the better passing offenses in the league last season, as a collective unit that needs to have a breakout season.
"For me, we ain’t done a damn thing," Johnson said. "You can go down the list, I’ve got a lot to prove."
The other side:
The Bears’ offense wasn’t completely shut out.
The second-team offense went down and scored a touchdown in the two-minute drill. Quarterback Tyson Bagent went down the first against the second-team defense, throwing a touchdown to rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas to score in just 25 seconds with 1:08 left on the clock.
But, this wasn’t the norm for the Bears. So far, the offense has been methodical with how the passing game has progressed. Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who hasn’t seen much continuity with the Bears in his seven seasons with the team, is noticing this too.
"It’s a different feeling," Kmet said. "I spent a lot of years in my career wondering what’s next."
Kmet recalled how the offensive install last year took time. Now, the offense doesn’t need to take time installing pre-snap calls and more.
"Last year, we struggled so much operationally," Kmet said.
Even on the other side of the ball, Johnson is noticing the differences as one of the better cornerbacks that has also seen coaches and offenses come and go in his seven seasons at Halas Hall.
"This is the best offense I’ve had in seven years," Johnson said. "Caleb’s the best quarterback I’ve had, maybe since Nick Foles if you want to go back that far."
Saturday was a tough day. There was an elemental factor with the rain bogging down the field and making passes slippery.
Now, it was a tough day that felt like an anomaly instead of the norm. That’s progress for a Bears’ offense under Ben Johnson that has plenty of more room to grow.
Even young players know there shouldn’t be any excuses.
"You got to catch the ball and make plays," Bears rookie receiver Zavion Thomas said.