The Bears don’t have to worry about quarterback Caleb Williams’ cadence at the line of scrimmage Sunday.
That’s because none of his teammates will be able to hear him.
The Bears are switching to a silent count against the Lions, not because of their four false starts last week but because they’re anticipating a maelstrom of noise raining down on them from the Ford Field stands. Coach Ben Johnson is returning to the stadium for the first time since he left the Lions to go to a rival — and the Lions are playing their first regular-season home game since losing last season as the top seed in the playoffs.
The snap, then, will come wordlessly.
“Being able to use that effectively is going to be good for us,” Williams said.
The cadence change is a perfect illustration of the challenge of a Bears team that is at once trying to build Williams up from scratch and attempting to compete in the NFL’s toughest division. A procedural problem vanishes only because a bigger, scarier issue takes its place.
For Williams, the noon kickoff can’t come fast enough, even if he’s being thrown into the Lions’ den.
The last time Williams took the field, the Bears blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Vikings by three. Williams got worse along the way with a 50 passer rating in the third quarter and a 39.8 rating with two sacks in the fourth quarter before leading the Bears, who were behind by 10 points, to a late touchdown.
Williams needs to get that taste out of his mouth. There’s no better way to do it than to try to beat a team that stands in the way of the Bears having sustained success in their division. They haven’t been able to break through during the Lions’ surge, losing five of six games to them since the Matt Nagy era ended.
Williams has used the short week well, Johnson said, with the Bears’ staff trying to balance what concepts will remain staples and which ones get customized for the opponent each week.
“He’s very intentional with what he’s doing,” Johnson said. “He’s putting in the time. There are no shortcuts right now. . . .
“I’ve been very happy with how he’s been downloading the information, and I thought, for the most part, last week was really good for him this week. On a shorter week, it’s more challenging, particularly on the road on a silent cadence. There are more factors at play.”
Including who’s chasing him. Williams has never faced Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions’ edge rusher who missed most of last season with a broken leg. He was leading the NFL in sacks when he was hurt in Week 5. Hutchinson looked like himself in the Lions’ 14-point loss to the Packers last week.
‘‘He’s still the same player, still very explosive, still a high-motor guy,” Williams said. “Just being aware of him, knowing where he is, being able to help the O-linemen and getting the ball out early and slowing him down in those ways. And then just being able to take care of him in our game plan.”
While Johnson wants to run the ball more, the Bears’ game plan will only be as successful as Williams is. The Bears don’t expect perfection from him, but they need progress — especially after an opener that prompted more questions than answers.
“We’re finding that right level,” Johnson said, “to where he can still play fast and confident football, but still give us enough in the arsenal for our guys to get the ball and do what they need to do.”