Every Sunday throughout the 2025 NFL season, FOX Sports’ reporters will break down “America’s Game of the Week,” offering their thoughts to give you a deeper perspective — including what you might have missed.
What if the Bears could actually put away years and years of pain and build a sustainable winner under Ben Johnson? Chicago on Sunday got a glimpse of what better days could be like.
The Bears dominated the Cowboys 31-14 at home for Johnson’s first win as coach. After calling out his team days ago for practice habits that have “yet to reflect a championship team,” the former Lions offensive coordinator received a complete performance from his team. Chicago gave Dallas (1-2) its second loss of the season.
Here’s what stood out.
Bears’ Caleb Williams on 4-TD game vs. Cowboys, Ben Johnson’s first win & more | NFL on FOX
Caleb Williams joined Tom Rinaldi to discuss throwing four touchdowns in the Chicago Bears’ 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Ben Johnson’s first win as head coach and more.
1. Caleb Williams Was Terrific
Yes, last year’s No. 1 overall pick is still a work in progress, and we’re very early into his partnership with Johnson. But Williams’ performance Sunday is why high, high hopes of what he can become should persist.
Williams had arguably the best game of his career to this point, completing 67.9% of his passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns (tied a career high) with a career-high 142.6 passer rating.
Williams had a particularly strong first half, throwing for 239 yards and three touchdowns before halftime, both career-highs through two quarters. The biggest highlight was his 65-yard flea-flicker touchdown to rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III in the first. The pass traveled 62.1 air yards — the longest completion of his career and in the NFL this season at the time of the throw, according to Next Gen Stats. Williams also led a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half that put Chicago up 24-14, and orchestrated a 19-play touchdown drive in the third period.
It was all smiles for Caleb Williams when he spoke to FOX’s Tom Rinaldi after the game. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
2. CeeDee Lamb Injury Could Be Significant
The Cowboys Pro Bowl receiver hurt his ankle after getting rolled up on in the first quarter. Lamb played an additional snap in the second quarter, but he wound up pacing the sideline the rest of the quarter and didn’t return.
Dallas next hosts Green Bay on Sunday Night Football in Week 4, so Lamb will get a full week of rest. If he can’t suit up, the Cowboys have more depth at pass catcher than they did last year. George Pickens would be expected to assume No. 1 responsibilities if Lamb can’t play.
3. Cowboys Clearly Miss Micah Parsons
The Dallas pass rush was non-existent. It didn’t register a sack on Williams, who hit four different receivers for receptions of at least 30 yards. For the game, six Bears pass catchers had receptions of 20 or more yards. Cowboys defensive coordinator (and former Bears coach) Matt Eberflus should be fuming.
Pass rush and coverage, of course, are connected. And the Cowboys’ pass defense has looked disjointed in back-to-back weeks after holding its own against the Eagles in the opener.
The hope is that veteran defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, signed last week, will help up front. He’s expected to make his Cowboys debut next week against the Packers.
Caleb Williams finds DJ Moore for four-yard TD, extending Bears’ lead over Cowboys | NFL Highlights
Caleb Williams found DJ Moore for a four-yard TD to extend the Chicago Bears’ lead over the Dallas Cowboys.
4. Don’t Sleep on the Bears Defense
As much as the Bears dominated, the Cowboys’ offense still had a chance to make things interesting in the fourth quarter. The Bears defense responded with interceptions on the Cowboys’ last three drives — two from linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and the final one from safety Kevin Byard in garbage time off backup Joe Milton. All three came in Chicago territory, and the last two were in the end zone.
This was a big and important showing for the Bears’ defense, considering they had the league’s worst scoring defense entering Sunday (39.5 points per game allowed) and the Lions put up 52 points on them last week.
Kevin Byard (No. 31) intercepted Joe Milton on the Cowboys’ final offensive drive of the game, and Tremaine Edmunds (No. 44) had two of Dak Prescott. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
½. ‘Who Are These Bears?’
That’s what FOX’s Kevin Burkhardt said on the broadcast late in the third quarter when the Bears were on the 17th play of their 19-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that took 9:54 off the clock and pushed Chicago’s lead up to 31-14.
Burkhardt spoke for all of us with those words. Seeing a put-together Chicago offense that can wear out opponents and sustain drives is not what we’ve grown accustomed to over the years.
It’s just one game, but that is the kind of offensive showing the Bears hope can be the norm with Johnson as coach.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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