Bears, Williams face biggest test of the season on Thursday against Lions

CHICAGO (CBS) — It’s a short week for Caleb Williams and the Bears with their toughest test of the season looming against the 10-1 Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.
Williams is on the first short week of his NFL career. He admitted he had a few “mess-ups” during the Bears’ walkthrough on Tuesday, as he needs to speed up his learning of this week’s game plan. He said whatever happens this week, he hopes to learn from and use in future short weeks.
Williams played well against the high-pressure Vikings defense, but the Lions present a different test, and he was asked if there was anything about performing well against Minnesota that would help him go up against Detroit.
“I wouldn’t say that it helps you; you know, that you can go against them and battle with them toe-to-toe, even when you’re down 10 points or more late in the game,” Williams said. “It’s a totally different defense, totally different mindset of defense; you know, scheme, players. Where they’re special, the Vikings might not be, or where the Vikings are special, they may not be on defense. So it’s a different challenge.”
Williams was also asked if he’d have been better served with Thomas Brown being his offensive coordinator from the start of the season. He wouldn’t go that far, but did say Brown has done a better job understanding his players and putting them in position to succeed, and that’s allowed them to be more efficient offensively, and if were able to do that sooner, it “would’ve helped all of us.”
There has been clear improvement for Williams and the offense in the two weeks with Thomas Brown calling plays. Both say the communication has been a key, with Brown being direct and seemingly unlocking a more aggressive approach from Williams.
“It was very obvious. He had no fear at all, which is the way we want to have him be able to play,” Brown said of Williams’ performance since the change in offensive coordinators. “I think about being aggressive and taking calculate risks. So aggressive is not being reckless, it’s two different things. So not putting the ball in jeopardy. He’s done a really good job of taking care of the football. Obviously, he made some tight-window throws, which is why you get drafted No. 1 overall – to make those big plays.”
The Bears are relatively healthy headed into the Lions game. On the walkthrough injury report, safety Elijah Hicks was listed as not practicing. Reserve lineman Ryan Bates was limited after being in concussion protocol.