Caleb Williams says Jeffery Simmons cleaned the whole locker room after his Bears debut, and Ben Johnson says the new defensive tackle elevates everyone around him. With Chicago on a three-game win streak and Sunday night’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead, the quarterback and head coach spent midweek explaining what is clicking on offense and what Simmons already means inside Halas Hall.
Kickoff is Sunday, November 8, at 8:20 p.m. ET, which is 3:20 a.m. Monday in Cairo. Williams has completed 73.8 percent of his passes for 860 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions across the three straight wins since returning from a hamstring injury.
Williams on Simmons: “That’s who he is”
Simmons, acquired in a trade with the Titans, had six tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup in Monday night’s win at Seattle. Williams talked as much about what happened after the game. “He’s an All-Pro guy, he’s this and that, he could walk out, and nobody would say anything or pay any mind, and he’s cleaning up the whole locker room, offensive and defensive side,” Williams said. “That’s who he is. Happy to have him on our side. It’s going to help the guys. I truly think he’s going to lead those guys and make those guys better. I think that Monday was the first example of that.”
He also praised Simmons’ play. “Yeah, he’s been the best defensive tackle the past couple of years; if not No. 1, then No. 2,” Williams said. “Having a difference maker like that, it makes everyone else’s job easy. The energy he brings—I’ve played versus him, so the trash-talking and all of that—it’s fun having him on our side.”
Checkdowns, long drives and trust with Johnson
Williams said the Bears’ wire-to-wire wins have started with staying on schedule rather than forcing shots. “I think when you start getting in those long drives, it’s finding completions,” he said. “It’s keeping the drive alive. It’s not going for the kill, per se; it’s not going for the shot. It’s, ‘OK, the shot’s not there, let’s check it down. Let’s get that four yards, five yards and keep the drives alive.’” He said that growth is about comfort in the playbook: “This year, it’s just being a lot more comfortable with the playbook and understanding it and what we want to do with certain plays.”
On how he and Johnson handle plays Williams does not love, the quarterback described a give-and-take. “I trust Ben with it,” Williams said. “If he calls something and I don’t like it, we go up into his office. We sit down, we talk about it, he shows me clips, and if I still don’t like it… he won’t call it.” He added that after watching tape together he usually feels better about the call: “At the end of it I typically feel pretty good about it and where we want to go with the ball.”
Johnson: cleaner passing, and Simmons’ “juice”
Johnson said the passing game has been cleaner as Williams distributes the ball. “Our passing game in general has been a little bit cleaner,” Johnson said. “These guys are doing a great job just with the details and where they’re supposed to be. Caleb’s completing the ball at a high rate right now and distributing it to really all these guys.” He credited Williams’ extra work: “It’s a testament to the work that he’s putting in… I think it’s helping him play faster at this point and he’s got a lot of confidence in the guys around him too doing their jobs.”
On Simmons, Johnson said the sideline felt the difference immediately. “You felt it on the sideline,” he said. “That’s always the ultimate compliment you can give a player is when you are elevating the people around you, and he does that. He does that on a play-by-play basis… I think he’s going to be one of those guys, even coming in on a Wednesday and not everyone’s feeling great and he’s going to be able to provide some juice there. Excited to have him.”
Johnson also said improving the run game remains a priority after Chicago was held to 105.3 rushing yards over its last four games despite ranking near the top of the league for the season. For a Bears team that has not trailed in three straight wins, Sunday night against Tampa Bay is the next test of whether the cleaner passing game, the Simmons boost and the midweek accountability all travel home.
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