LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Given a bye week after their offense began against Jacksonville in London, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears might have been better served without a Week 7 bye.
They’ll take the rest and head into a Sunday showdown with the Washington Commanders (5-2) feeling ready to compete in an NFC North that’s quickly looking like the toughest division in the NFL.
“I will say I think the guys were ready for a little break given the time we showed up to camp and the camp we went through,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said.
The Bears had a July 19 reporting date because they were in the Hall of Fame game and went through their first six games without a major injury until a series of minor injuries to defensive backs during and just before their game the most recent.
Coach Matt Eberflus said Monday that safety Jaquan Brisker is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol after a hit he took in the Oct. 6 win over Carolina. He has seen improvement in cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf), cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring) and cornerback Terell Smith (hip), but he can’t yet say any of them will be back for face the Commanders.
Even with their recent injuries, the Bears defense is ranked sixth overall, fourth in points allowed and third in points taken away.
The Bears are holding strong in an NFC North that has dominated the rest of the NFL thus far
However, they beat struggling teams. All four wins were by teams with a combined record of 7-20 while their two losses came to the Colts (4-3) and Texans (5-2).
“I mean, I feel like we played well and did some really good things in all facets of the game,” linebacker TJ Edwards said. “But I think for us, we know we can be a lot better.
“This is a group that is not complacent with anything we do and that starts with (defensive coordinator Eric) Washington and that type of thing.”
Eberflus said his team’s biggest positive change was simply Williams’ improvement since their 1-2 start.
Over the last four games, Williams has nine touchdown passes, three interceptions for 1,050 yards, with a passer rating of 106.4. He connected with DJ Moore for three TDs, Cole Kmet for three, Keenan Allen for two and Rome Odunze for one.
“You can really see improvement as the weeks go by,” Eberflus said. “And I always say it, each unit faces its difficulties every week. It could be a smuggler. This could be a ploy. These could be certain players who threaten your unit, a particular unit, offense, defense, or special teams. And I think he’s learning that as he goes.
“I think he’s learned how to really do a good job in the noise, how to deal with those things and also how to operate the basics of being a good quarterback. And it shows in the way it has been executed in recent weeks.
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Williams and the offense will need to be even sharper with the tougher schedule for the Bears.
“In the running game, there are still some things we need to clean up,” Kmet said. “In terms of play, there is still a lot. In our protection game, there are still things that we can be better at and I think you watch the film and there are actually some big mistakes that we need to fix that we’re aware of. Once we play these top teams in the NFL and start competing to make a playoff push here as the season goes on, we have to address these issues.
All six divisional games come in the final eight games and every team in the NFC North leads them with five wins.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty crazy, right?” Edwards said. “I mean, obviously, we know these teams pretty well. But it’s good football being played at the moment.
“Yesterday (Sunday) was probably the first time we were able to sit down, or at least me, just sit down and watch football for a second and it’s at a high level right now, man. We We are therefore delighted with this step that is coming, that’s for sure.
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