The Las Vegas Raiders will attempt to do something that the Dallas Cowboys didn’t do against the Chicago Bears: Put pressure on Caleb Williams. With no pressure, the USC product was able to slice and dice the Dallas defense.
Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns on 19 of 28 passes, leaving the Raiders’ defense with a challenging task if they want to contain the Bears’ star and earn a win. Maxx Crosby is one player in charge of applying pressure and making Williams uncomfortable.
As a result, Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle shared what Crosby does that will present a challenge to his unit.
“He’s a very unique player,” Doyle said (h/t Raiders.com). “When building a plan, obviously you have to have awareness of where he’s at at all times. He’s a phenomenal player. He plays with great effort.
“That’s the biggest thing about him that shows up on the tape. He’s slippery and you just have to have an awareness and on every single play, you’ve got to have a plan for how we’re going to handle him.”
Can the Raiders Defense Contain Caleb Williams
As Week 4 approaches, Raiders defensive lineman Thomas Booker IV faces the challenge of containing Williams and the Bears, looking to restore the defensive dominance the unit displayed against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.
Booker outlined what the defense must prioritize to prevent giving up big plays and to keep Williams from performing at the same level he did against the Cowboys in Week 3.
“I think [Williams is] starting to kind of figure it out—when he should stay in the pocket and when he should get out of there,” Booker told reporters on September 24. “In terms of being improvisational and scrambling, he can really make plays on the move. For us, it’s about containing him and creating as many opportunities as possible to keep him in the pocket, so he doesn’t get out and run wild. That’s what we’ll be focusing on this week.”
Bears QB Caleb Williams Can Hurt Raiders’ Defense
Earlier this week, Bears head coach Ben Johnson gave the Raiders a heads-up on what Williams is capable of now that he’s hitting his stride in the new offensive system.
“When the offensive line protects like that, it’s a lot easier to play from the pocket,” Johnson told the media on September 22 (h/t Marquee Sports Network). “I thought zero sacks. We had a very clean pocket for the most part. That’s a starting point. He’s got the ability to escape and extend and all that. But, man, if we can keep him in there, our playmakers are some dynamic route runners that we can get the ball to in space.
“I think he saw when he plays on time, he’s trusting the hitches, and we can be an explosive offense that way. There’s a lot of ways that Caleb Williams can hurt you. Like I said, when we have pass protection like we had against the Cowboys, that certainly helps.”
If the Raiders want to climb back to .500, the Silver and Black will need to make Williams uncomfortable, or else they could pay the price.