ALLEN PARK -- Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell said the defense has a good sense of what to expect from Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, even as the former No. 1 pick continues to grow as a player.
“He’s talented. He can get out of the pocket, do some stuff. So yeah, we just got to keep him contained and do our job,” Campbell said. “And the back end, we got to do our job as well to keep him from going to his first read and making him get a little bit scrambling.”
Following Detroit’s 27-13 Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers -- where Jordan Love operated with a clean pocket throughout the afternoon -- generating pressure has been a hot-button topic leading into the Lions’ home opener at Ford Field.
Campbell noted that Williams’ elusiveness and improvisation will test the Lions’ defense. Still, he believes Detroit can draw from past success against the Bears quarterback.
In two games versus the Lions last season, Williams completed 58.2% of his passes for 590 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, though Detroit sacked him seven times.
“It’s nice when you play a player; you kind of know his player profile,” Campbell said. “I feel like he’s grown a little bit, though, in a couple of things. So he’s a good player. He gets better every week, and he’s the number one pick for a reason.
“We got our work cut out for us, and he’s got the tools around him to be really good.”
One of those tools for Williams is in the form of new head coach, Ben Johnson, and his staff.
After the Lions’ divisional round loss to the Washington Commanders, the Bears hired the former Detroit offensive coordinator to fill their head coaching vacancy.
Although Johnson lost his debut Monday against the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions’ staff praised the Bears’ offense for how it “came out slugging.”
Campbell said that while his experience practicing against Johnson’s offense in Detroit gave him a baseline, he’s leaned on teammates from the offensive side of the ball to add more detail.
“I mean, obviously, he was here for two years, so I know some stuff,” Campbell said. “But just asking around, just hearing what other guys’ opinions are on things, especially on the offensive side, who’s working with him, I think we’ve got a pretty good defensive plan to go into the game. We just got to execute it.”
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