Most of the damage that Caleb Williams inflicted on the Cowboys defense last Sunday came from a clean pocket—thanks to an excellent outing from the offensive line.

Williams was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns without being sacked in a 31-14 victory over Dallas. It was the first time he was not sacked in 20 NFL starts.

“They did a phenomenal job blocking for him,” said coach Ben Johnson. “When we are talking about him playing with his feet, playing through the hitches and yet he’s not having to move off the spot, it really helps him out immensely.

“That’s where if you’re trying to get to two or three [in his progressions] and you’re feeling some pressure, you’re seeing some color and your eyes go down and they are off the spot, that’s where the timing and rhythm of everything we are trying to get down is thrown off. [The line] did a great job last week.”

On the ground

While the pass protection was stellar against the Cowboys, the Bears are determined to run the ball more efficiently Sunday when they visit the Raiders in Las Vegas. They were limited to 87 yards by Dallas, averaging 3.0 yards per carry. Running backs D’Andre Swift (13-33) and Kyle Monangai (6-16) combined for 49 yards on 19 attempts.

“It can be better all over the place right now,” Johnson said. “We’re very conscious of it. We watched all of our runs as a group the other day, Monday. I’ve alluded to it in the past that it can take a little bit of time before this all meshes and all jells together. 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.”

Steady progress

Each week so far this season, Williams has improved his completion percentage (60.0 to 63.3 to 67.9) and passer rating (86.6 to 91.9 to 142.6) and increased his touchdown passes (1 to 2 to 4).

“I see him playing the game with his feet much more so than what we had in the spring or during training camp,” Johnson said. “He’s trying to tie in No. 1 in the progression with the first hitch, No. 2 with the second hitch and we’re trying to throw on time a lot more often that maybe we were initially. I see it coming along.

“I give a lot of credit to the guys in that room with him. [Quarterbacks coach] J.T. Barrett’s doing a really good job championing the cause of what we’re trying to get done as a coaching staff. And then Tyson [Bagent] has got his back and Case Keenum’s got his back as well. It’s been a group effort. He’s been receptive to it all. I can’t say enough, really, about the approach. I keep going back to it. When you have the approach that’s right, we’re going to continue to see him get better.”

Natural connection

Receiver Rome Odunze told reporters that his 35-yard touchdown reception against the Cowboys came after he altered his route mid-play. Odunze was supposed to run an in route but switched to a go after cornerback Trevon Diggs slipped. Williams recognized the adjustment and hit Odunze in stride down the sideline.

“That’s the natural connection that they have,” Johnson said. “It was a great release by Rome. We [saw] growth all across the board from Week 1 all the way up to Week 3. That’s a good example of it. In Week 1, we had one of those ‘mailbox’ plays, and we weren’t able to connect. In Week 3, we did … That, to me as a coach, is what I’m looking for: ‘How are we getting better each week? How are we growing as a team through this first quarter of the season?'”

Injury update

Five Bears did not practice Wednesday: Right tackle Darnell Wright (elbow), tight end Colston Loveland (hip), defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee), linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring). Swift (hip), tight end Cole Kmet (groin) and cornerback Jaylon Jones (hamstring) were limited.

Utmost respect

Johnson’s counterpart with the Raiders, Pete Carroll, is in his first season with Las Vegas but his 19th as an NFL head coach. During his tenure with the Seahawks from 2010-23, he led Seattle to 10 playoff appearances in 14 years, highlighted by a Super Bowl XLVIII championship in 2013.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for Pete Carroll,” Johnson said. “He’s been doing this for almost 30 years, whether at the college level or NFL and he only has four losing seasons. That’s a credit to who he is. The teams take his identity. They play hard, they play fast, they play physical, they fly around, and I know that he’ll have this group ready to go here this week. We’ve got to answer that call.”