Caleb Williams, Bears look to build on win over Cowboys when they visit Raiders

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Maybe this was the Caleb Williams many expected when he was drafted first overall last year.

Or perhaps Dallas’ defense is just that bad.

The Bears’ game at Las Vegas on Sunday might be a clue as to whether Williams’ four-touchdown performance in a blowout victory over the Cowboys last weekend was a sign of what’s to come or if it was simply a high mark in an otherwise inconsistent early career.

“I can’t say enough, really, about (Williams’) approach,” Chicago coach Ben Johnson said. “When you have the approach that’s right, we’re going to continue to see him get better. Kudos to him. He won offensive player of the week there for the NFC and he came in (Wednesday) completely unfazed by it. I tried to recognize him in front of the group and he wasn’t having it.”

The Raiders are going with the approach that the Williams who tore apart the Cowboys is the one they should be prepared to face.

“He’s a very, very special athlete, and he’s got great sense, great awareness about throwing the football and running the football,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “He’ll be a prolific scrambler by the time we check out his years. He’s really good at it and throws really well on the run, too.”

Carroll said Johnson’s influence as the first-year coach is already coming through in Williams’ play.

Few dispute Williams’ big arm and elite athleticism, but he often holds the ball too long and takes unnecessary hits and sacks in search of a big play. The pressure is on Williams in his second season to show why he was worth the top pick.

Beating the Cowboys soundly was a positive step in that direction. A similar performance against the Raiders would be another one.

“We have a tall task at hand,” Williams said. “Every week is important. Every game. Every moment. That was a good moment we had Sunday, and it’s time to move on to the Raiders.”

Tucker’s breakout game

Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker is known for using his speed to stretch the field, but the third-year pro worked on his overall game this summer.

It showed in Sunday’s 41-24 loss at Washington, where he set career highs with eight receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

“Tre is a true professional as far as how he goes about his work,” fellow receiver Jakobi Meyers said. “He attacks it. He has a plan. He writes down every detail. If he messes up, he goes back and watches it and fixes it, and I think the off-the-field stuff translates onto the field.”

Bears defense bounces back

Chicago went from blowing an 11-point lead in the season opener against Minnesota to nearly matching a franchise record for points allowed in a 52-21 blowout at Detroit.

But against Dallas, it was a different story.

The Bears got four takeaways, including a spectacular forced fumble by Tyrique Stevenson. They also had three interceptions — two by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds — and held Dak Prescott to 251 yards passing while sacking him twice and picking him off two times.

“The work we put in as a collective, it matters, and it’s going to show up because we work hard and we trust each other,” Stevenson said. “It’s allowing us to believe in each other and trust each other and know that we’re going to be out there having each other’s back and play free.”

Run-down Bears

Bears running back D’Andre Swift is averaging 3.5 yards per carry and rookie Kyle Monangai is at 3.4 per attempt. Johnson said the team is “very conscious” of the problems in the run game.

“I’ve alluded to it in the past that it can take a little bit of time before this all meshes and all gels together,” he said. “We’ve got some new faces up front that haven’t played a ton of ball together yet. That’s part of the process. It’s also for the runners to understand what we intend to do with some of these play calls, where we want that ball to hit. And then at the end of the day, they take their natural skill set and they make something big out of it.”

Raiders not so special teams

Special teams are usually a major strength for the Raiders, but against the Commanders, they gave up a 69-yard kickoff return to set up a touchdown and a 90-yard punt return for a TD.

Carroll credited Commanders coach Dan Quinn and special teams coordinator Larry Izzo — who worked for Carroll in Seattle — but acknowledged the Raiders had some things to clean up.

“I have to do a better job of getting these guys ready to go in the matchups that we have regardless, and it showed up on special teams quite, quite clearly,” Carroll said. “Fundamentals just being low and leverage and attack and defending blocks and beating the blockers on our coverage. All of that. It was too many big plays that led to an easy win for them.”

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman in Chicago contributed to this report.

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