The Cincinnati Bengals defense had an opportunity this week to face a new offense during a joint practice with the Chicago Bears. Both teams will face each other in their second preseason game on Aug. 22 at Paycor Stadium.
Rather than facing Joe Burrow, the Bengals defense had an opportunity to go head-to-head with Caleb Williams. Last season, Williams showed that he’s one of the top young QBs in the league. As a result, it was a good challenge for the Cincinnati unit.
After the joint practice, Williams spoke with the media on Aug. 20 and shared his thoughts on facing Dexter Lawrence II, the main piece the Bengals added to their defense this past offseason.
“[Lawrence is] an All-Pro guy,” Williams told reporters. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, defensive tackles with Chris Jones and all of them up there. He’s a force to be reckoned with, and that’s something that you go into a game week planning for him, planning to execute against him and doing things that aren’t necessarily in his favor – his body type, his style of play, the scheme and things like that, and where they have him.”
Last season with the New York Giants, Lawrence played 754 snaps, earning a 75.6 overall PFF defensive grade. Moreover, he recorded 34 total pressures, 27 hurries, and seven QB hits while also registering 22 solo tackles.
Caleb Williams Couldn’t Focus on Solely on Dexter Lawrence
Despite Lawrence being out there looking to wreck the Bears’ offensive game plan in this joint practice, Williams noted he couldn’t focus solely on the veteran defensive tackle.
“With him being in practice, in joint practice, you’re not necessarily scheming players and things like that. You’re going out there and executing, and obviously, you have plays.
“You’re not calling plays that won’t work versus the defensive coordinator and their system, but you’re not necessarily scheming fully. That’s something that we’ll do throughout the weeks and execute those plays.”
Bengals Defense Gets Blunt Message From Caleb Williams
Moreover, Williams spoke about the pressure that he was facing not just from Lawrence, but from the Bengals defense as a whole.
“It’s definitely a test for us,” Williams said. “It’s different styles out there, different body types. [The Bengals] do things differently over there, and it’s always a good challenge to be able to go versus somebody else and get a test from somebody else.
“They were a great test for us; they invested pretty heavily in their defense from last year and showed up today. They were able to call some negative plays and things like that.”
As mentioned, along with Lawrence, Cincinnati signed Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook in free agency. The Bengals didn’t stop there, as their second-round pick was Cashius Howell and their third-round pick was Tacario Davis, bolstering the defense even more.
If Cincinnati wants to take value from what Williams said, the front office’s investment in their defense appears to be paying off. It will be interesting to see if the Bengals’ defense can be a challenge for opposing offenses and help their offense.
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