Caleb Williams knows the challenge that’s coming on Sunday, and he also seems aware of a way he can uniquely combat the various looks Brian Flores will throw at him.
In each of Brian Flores’ three years as defensive coordinator, the Minnesota Vikings have led or are leading the league in blitz rate. But he also uniquely marries that with amoeba-like coverage schemes, complete with late shifts to send quarterbacks into disarray.
In three games against Flores’ defense, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been objectively fine, completing 62.8 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 93.6 passer rating. The Bears have also lost all three games, heading into the next matchup in Week 11.
Back in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings blitzed Williams less than has been typical over Flores’ time running the defense (18 of his 44 dropbacks; 40.9 percent). That rate is actually not that far below the Vikings’ season-long blitz rate of 42.2 percent, but injuries to some key personnel certainly impacted how often Flores sent extra rushers earlier in the season.
Williams spoke to the media on Wednesday, and he was asked multiple questions about the challenge of going against Flores.
“I would say he’s probably one of the more challenging coaches that I’ve had to go against so far in my career,”
Williams said. “Obviously, I haven’t played every single team yet and every single defensive coordinator, but up to this point, he’s been that (the toughest defensive coordinator Williams has faced).”
“It’s all 70-plus plays that you have or so. It’s a full mental test. Every single play, he challenges you to reach your full mental capacity”, Williams continued. “This is always a fun game, going against Flo and his defense and the players he has on that side of the ball. Like I said, it’s always fun going up against a defensive coordinator and a team like this.”
“You just understand that you have to be as close to perfect as you can be. Practice and the small details all matter. Protecting the football, the routes, the depth, the spacing, my timing, everything matters.”
Back in Week 1 against Minnesota, Williams went 21-for-35 for 210 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions, and an 86.6 passer rating while also taking two sacks. He also had six carries for 58 yards and a rushing touchdown in that game.
After a downward trend in his production as a runner, Williams has 116 rushing yards over the last two games, and he fully understands the differentiating threat he can be with his legs.
To combat whatever Flores might have up his sleeve on Sunday, Williams’ instincts as a runner will be just as important to the success of the Bears’ offense as what he does as a passer.
One most welcome surprise for the Cincinnati Bengals in recent weeks has been the transformation of their running game. Unfortunately, the bye week, a second-time opponent in the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a key injury could derail all that prior momentum.
Not that the Steelers have a stupendous defense, but if Pittsburgh can score at will like many Bengals opponents have this season, ageless wonder Joe Flacco will be forced to air it out a lot and render Cincinnati’s offense one-dimensional.
To help Flacco avoid a quadragenarian shootout versus Aaron Rodgers, the Bengals need to play keep-away and lean on the run. Can they count on a rookie sixth-round pick to help the cause?
Former Texas Tech tailback Tahj Brooks slid all the way to the 193rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bengals happily scooped up the productive ball-carrier then, as a deep running back class was part of the reason for Brooks’ tumble down the board.
Any hopes Brooks had of substantial playing time early on were dashed when Cincinnati could run the ball whatsoever. Chase Brown was averaging around two yards per carry. Brooks has only managed six carries for 18 yards in his young career thus far.
But aging vet Samaje Perine and Brown suddenly became a phenomenal 1-2 punch of late. It’s a bummer that Perine will be out for Week 11 with an ankle injury, as the team confirmed on Friday.
Perine is a savvy back who still has more explosiveness than you’d think at 30 years old. The good news is, the Bengals’ disreputable offensive line has rallied from early adversity to pave lots of running lanes, which should open things up for Brown against Pittsburgh.
When the Steelers and Bengals met in Week 7, Brown had 108 yards on only 11 carries. The question is, does Brooks have the vision and conviction to hit the hole without hesitating, and produce like a solid RB2?
That much is unclear. What is clear is that Brooks should have the chance to prove himself. Maybe Zac Taylor won’t trust him with a lot of reps, but Brown’s health should take priority.
Plus, Brooks did have quite a run at the end of his college days, rushing for over 1500 yards in each of his last two seasons with 27 touchdowns on the ground in that span.
It’d just be nice to see a Cincinnati rookie do well. Watching Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter try to play NFL linebacker has been a disaster and a big reason why the defense is so bad. Maybe Brooks will provide hope that this latest underwhelming draft class can turn into something salvageable and respectable for the Duke Tobin-led scouting department.
I’ll play you out with some Brooks Texas Tech highlights rather than any more depressing Bengals personnel fodder.