The Las Vegas Raiders are on a two-game losing streak after winning their Week 1 game. With the Chicago Bears coming to Las Vegas, they will be looking to snap this skid and get back into the win column.
Las Vegas will have to deal with Caleb Williams, who is coming into Week 4 riding a wave of confidence after his performance against the Dallas Cowboys. Williams completed 19 of 28 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns, so the Raiders’ defense must keep the USC product quiet if they want to come away with a win.
Heading into the Week 4 clash, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is well aware of what Williams will bring to the table.
“I did watch him a lot [at USC] and had a chance to check him out,” Carroll told reporters on September 24. “He’s a very, very special athlete and he’s got great sense, great awareness about throwing the football and running the football. He’ll be a prolific scrambler, and by the time we check out his years, he’s really good at it and throws really well on the run, too.
“They have a really nice system. You can see it already coming through. [Ben Johnson] is doing a nice job teaching these guys what he believes is important in offense. You can see that there are a lot of changes from last year. Caleb can do whatever you want him to do, so he’s a very dangerous player to play against.”
Raiders Defense Receives Warning
Carroll knows exactly what Williams can bring on offense, and if the Raiders defense isn’t taking that message from their head coach, Johnson made it clear for them—reminding everyone that the Chicago quarterback has multiple ways to make an NFL defense pay.
“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.”
Caleb Williams Will Have Confidence Against the Raiders
The Raiders have reason to be wary. Williams appears to be finding his rhythm in Chicago’s new offense after stumbling through his first two games under the Bears’ rookie head coach.
Additionally, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner suggested Chicago might be opening up the playbook for Williams, meaning Las Vegas could be staring at a team prepared to roll out gadget plays.
“I just think the whole operation offensively was fun to watch,” Warner said on September 22 during an appearance on 670 The Score. “I think the key for me was they won early—they won within the scheme of what Ben was trying to do. And then we got to see Ben come out. We got to see the flea flicker. We got to see some of the fun stuff that’s always been a part of what Ben Johnson is as an offensive coordinator.
“And we haven’t really seen that a lot yet this year because they’ve been behind, and they’ve been trying to play the game. They played the game well early, which opened up the opportunity for some of those fun aspects. And then they had success with those fun aspects as well. So I just think it was a really good overall performance by the Bears in general.”