The Chicago Bears competed with the Detroit Lions for exactly one half of football in their 52-21 blowout loss in Week 2, and one of the biggest reasons for that first-half success was quarterback Caleb Williams, who showed improvement after a rough Week 1 outing.

Williams led the Bears on a opening-drive touchdown for the second time in as many weeks (which is two more than Chicago accomplished all of last season) and also found his connection with wide receiver Rome Odunze, as the pair of former first-round picks combined for two touchdowns in the first half. But the wheels did fall off for the Bears in the second half, where the Lions packed it on against their former offensive coordinator. While Williams had an ill-advised interception, he had an overall decent outing.

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The day after the Bears’ loss to the Lions, head coach Ben Johnson discussed Williams’ performance in Week 2, where he specifically noted vast improvement while making it clear that the second-year QB still has plenty of work to do.

“I did see significant growth,” Johnson said. “It’s not perfect yet. There’s still a number of plays where our eyes aren’t quite in the right position or we’re holding onto the ball just a tick longer than what we’re coaching. But I did see tremendous growth in terms of going through the progression. There were a few times there where we had to get to number three or four in the read and he was trusting his feet and his footwork and was able to get there. I did think he got better from Week 1 to Week 2. I’m encouraged by what I saw and I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to see another leap here this week.”

We’re just two games into the Caleb Williams-Ben Johnson era, and the growth between Weeks 1 and 2 has been encouraging. Patience was always going to needed in this process, especially as not all of the pieces are currently in place. Williams faced pressure off the edge with tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright struggling against Detroit’s pass rush.

While it’s currently doom and gloom, with Chicago sitting winless through two weeks and a defense that’s allowed 73 points in the last five quarters, there is progress being made with Williams. And that’s a small victory to cling to right now.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson reacts to Caleb Williams’ performance vs. Lions