Bears

There was a moment in the Bears’ preseason game against the Bengals where Caleb Williams missed a pass to TE Coleston Loveland down the right side in a 1st-and-20 situation outside Cincinnati’s red zone, which led to a field goal on 4th-and-20. Chicago HC Ben Johnson reflected on the series, acknowledging that Williams was alert on the Bengals’ busted coverage but wants to be sure they avoid getting in 3rd-and-long situations. 

“Whenever it becomes third-and-20, you look back, and you say, ‘How could we not have been in that situation?’” Johnson said, via Dan Weiderer and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “That was first-and-20 right there. He’s right if he hits it. If he doesn’t, then there are other places we can go with the football. He understands that thought process. And he’s just like me — we don’t want to get caught in those third-and-20 situations. So on first-and-20, we might just take the aggressiveness level down a notch.”

Overall, Johnson has been pleased by Williams’ development during their time together. 

“I’m happy with where he’s at right now,” Johnson said. “I love the approach he takes coming into work every day. I love his demeanor on the field right now. There’s a level of professionalism that I think radiates from him.”

Bears OC Press Taylor said they are holding Williams to a high standard, and the quarterback is embracing the challenge. 

“We’ve seen you do everything we’re asking you to do at a high level. Here’s what it looks like when you do it. This is what we expect of you all the time. He wants to be held to that standard. And he knows we’re not letting up. So I think he’s embraced that, and he’s grown from it. And it’s gonna make him better.”

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer highly praised LT Tyler Guyton, saying he’s exceeded expectations during training camp. Dallas VP of player personnel Will McClay said they’ve challenged Guyton to be more consistent. 

“He’s a young player that performed well when he was on the field, but it’s about the consistency of it. So he took the offseason challenge and everything we asked him to do. Offseason award winner, taking every rep. From the moment the season was over, it was important for him to get better and not let anybody down. And he’s really trying to do that every day. He’s always had the ability, now it’s the confidence. That’s very hard. He’s got to block all of the best (pass) rushers. His growth has been really, really good, and he’s confident in himself and the group’s confident in him,” McClay said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic.

As for third-year QB Joe Milton, McClay said they want him to be more comfortable in Schottenheimer’s system.

“It’s growth. He’s becoming more comfortable in the system. I give (quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko) and the coaches credit for taking the time to help him figure it out and understand it in a way that he does, and then him taking it. And really, we brought in competition that pissed him off. And one of the things about competition is that it makes everybody better. It made Joe dial in.”

Falcons

Falcons QB Michael Penix recently returned to the team for the first time since recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last season. Atlanta HC Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t say if Penix can earn the starting role over Tua Tagovailoa, but they want to continue evaluating him. 

“I can’t speculate on those types of things,” Stefanski said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “I want to really stay in today with Mike and see how he does in practice. I really have to stay in the moment with this one. Let’s see how he feels after today.”

Falcons WR Jahan Dotson is excited to see Penix back in practice. 

“It’s cool seeing him in 11-on-11 action,” Dotson said. “It’s exciting for him. I know it’s been a tough journey for him. It’s good to see him on the opposite side of that. He had a little scramble today, which was cool to see.”

Stefanski wants Penix to play the game freely and has a plan for him for the rest of training camp. 

“There’s a way to play this game, and you have to play it free,” Stefanski said. “I think Mike takes great comfort in knowing he’s done everything he can to get his body ready. This is Day 1 of 11-on-11 for him. We will get through today, check in and have a plan for tomorrow.”