In their first two offensive drives against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chicago Bears offense with quarterback Caleb Williams looked as if they were going to be untouchable throughout the Week 9 victory. Putting up back-to-back touchdown drives, Williams was on fire, having fun, and making Soldier Field roar. But then it all came back down to Earth quickly as he threw four interceptions through the rest of the game.
When it came to the final drive, as the Buccaneers tied the game late in the fourth quarter, the Bears needed to have their quarterback forget about his poor play and lead them to a game-winning drive. Mission was accomplished for Williams, who found tight end Colston Loveland for a 38-yard gain to set up the game-winning field
goal.
After the win, Bears head coach Ben Johnson discussed his quarterback's ability to come up big in the clutch despite his poor performance throughout majority of the game.
"Despite the displeasure I might be presenting right now, there’s a lot of good in terms of building this team that comes from a win like this," Johnson said. "Like I said, one, it’s hard to win under those circumstances. But to your point, we really haven’t been in that situation in the fourth quarter with little time left, needing a field goal, touchdown, whatever it is. It just hasn’t happened a whole lot this year. And yet I feel like our guys, we are prepped for that and we’re ready for it. That’s what I know now after going through that. I felt as calm calling plays on that drive as I had all game long. I think we thrive in those situations. It’s good to see that that was the case here.”
Johnson's comments show an understanding that not every game is going to be perfect, but since his arrival, his team and his quarterback have learned ways to pull away in the end and coming away with a victory. Acknowledging that Johnson was calm giving his play calls during the final drive means he never got panicked by Williams throwing four interceptions, and his belief in Williams never wavered.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson never lost hope in Caleb Williams on game-winning drive
