The Chicago Bears are coming off a hard-fought loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 14. That meeting was the first of two in a three-week span to help determine who sits atop the NFC North at the end of the season.
Sandwiched in between those two matchups is a Week 15 game against the Cleveland Browns. Although the Browns aren’t as talented as the Packers, they still have a good defense led by Myles Garrett.
Caleb Williams Explains Preparation for Myles Garrett
During his press conference on Tuesday, Williams was asked how facing Maxx Crosby and Micah Parsons prepared him to play Myles Garrett.
He said, “Obviously, he’s right there at the sack record, almost there at the sack record. And so, I’m going to try and make sure that he doesn’t get the sack record on us and on me. We’re excited about the challenge. We’re excited for this week. We’re excited to try and get back into win column.”
Although Crosby and Parsons are difference-makers in their own right, Chicago has yet to face someone quite as disruptive as Garrett this season. The veteran pass rusher is currently three sacks away from breaking Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5.
If Williams and the Bears aren’t careful, Garrett could legitimately break the record this week, especially considering he already has three games this season with three or more sacks. However, the Bears do have one major positive on their side: their offensive line has come together remarkably well as the season has progressed.
According to PFSN’s offensive line impact metric, Chicago now owns the second-best offensive line in the league with an impact score of 86.3. That improvement has shown up on film, particularly in how well the unit has handled in-game adjustments.
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Last week against the Packers, Ben Johnson recognized that the best way to lessen Green Bay’s pass rush was to move the pocket and vary launch points. Those adjustments helped keep Williams comfortable and allowed Chicago to sustain drives.
A similar approach will likely be used against Garrett, except this time, it might need to happen from the very start of the game. Not allowing Garrett to collapse the pocket or get clean angles on Williams is the easiest way to take him out of the equation.
Moreover, if Johnson wants to adopt a straight dropback passing game, double teams will likely be directed at Garrett. These will be necessary to help rookie Ozzy Trapilo, who has played well, against Garrett.
