Caleb Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, and he and the Bears had their best game of the season on both sides of the ball Sunday. Their 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field gave first-year head coach Ben Johnson his first win.

Three moments that mattered

1. Flea-flicker fun: Johnson’s high-octane and creative offenses in Detroit helped make him the Bears’ top target in the head-coaching search after last season. He dipped into his bag of fun late in the first quarter with some flea-flicker trickery. QB Caleb Williams took D’Andre Swift’s high pitch on first down and sailed a flat-footed pass 62 yards in the air to a wide-open Luther Burden III. The 65-yard TD throw to the rookie wide receiver lifted the Soldier Field faithful out of their seats and padded the Bears’ lead to 14-3, after Dallas had just kicked a field goal.

2. Kmet caps two-minute magic: Leading 17-14, the Bears took possession at their own 29 with 2:25 left in the first half and all three timeouts. Williams showed poise and accuracy on a text-book, two-minute drive that lengthened the lead. The QB capped it with a 10-yard strike to TE Cole Kmet in the end zone with 25 seconds left. On the previous play, Williams and Burden hooked up on a 29-yard completion.

3. Hail yes, Tyrique!: Dallas RB Javonte Williams busted loose into Bears territory on Dallas’ second play from scrimmage. Williams gained 26 yards and was seeking more when CB Tyrique Stevenson, he of the “Failed Mary” infamy in Washington last season, ripped the ball away while trying to make the tackle. The Bears capitalized on the turnover two minutes later when Caleb Williams threw a 35-yard TD pass to Rome Odunze for a 7-0 lead. Stevenson also broke up two passes, including one in the red zone.

Three things that worked

1. Tidy offense: Pre-snap penalties, particularly false starts, foiled the offense too many times the past two weeks. Against Dallas, the Bears cleaned it up. The offensive line had its best game of the season, certainly from a discipline standpoint. OT Darnell Wright got called for holding and was also flagged for being ineligible downfield, but Williams was not sacked.

2. Rookie receivers: The Bears’ top two picks in the 2025 draft, TE Colston Loveland (10th overall) and Burden (39th), had two receptions each in the first two weeks of the season. They were unleashed against Dallas, as both players showed off their big-play abilities. Loveland’s 31-yard reception (his only catch) helped set up the Bears’ first TD. Burden (three receptions, 101 yards) caught the flea-flicker bomb and had a 29-yard catch, one play before the Bears’ third TD.

3. Big-play Caleb: Williams (19-of-28 passing) missed some easy throws, but this was also easily his best performance of the season. The second-year QB showed a better command of the offense and avoided negative plays. He threw for 239 of his season-high 298 yards and three of his four TDs in the first half. He also spread the ball around, as eight players had a reception. Odunze, Burden, Kmet and DJ Moore caught TD passes.

Three things that didn’t

1. Pass rush: DE Dominique Robinson’s sack early in the second half (his first since he had half a sack in 2023) was the Bears’ first since Tanoh Kpassagnon’s takedown of the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy in the third quarter of the season opener. Montez Sweat got his first sack of the season in the fourth quarter, but Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had plenty of time to throw most of the game. Prescott finished 31 of 40 for 251 yards, one TD and two interceptions.

2. Running game: Seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai (six carries, 16 yards; one reception for four yards) had his most action of the season, but the ground game was basically absent for the third game in a row. D’Andre Swift had 11 carries for 32 yards. The Bears had only 86 rushing yards.

3. Fourth-quarter dagger: The Lions dropped 52 points on their old coach Johnson last week. The Bears, surely, would have liked to have kept scoring against their old head coach, Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. The Bears were up 24-14 at halftime and got a late-third-quarter TD on Williams’ pass in the end zone to Moore. That ended the scoring. No one was complaining, though, after the Bears got their first win of the season.

What’s next?

The Bears try their luck Sunday in Las Vegas, where they look to build on their first win against a 1-2 Raiders team. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium.