‘Growth’ is key word for Bears QB Caleb Williams: How much has he done, how much is needed as season nears?

The Bears have granted quarterback Caleb Williams’ wish to be coached harder. After a rookie season in which the staff too often deferred to him, new head coach Ben Johnson has brought a sobering and necessary approach.

Johnson knows what championship-caliber quarterback play looks like after helping the Lions’ Jared Goff produce the best seasons of his career and land a $212 million
contract, so he was hardly wowed by Williams carving up the Bills’ second-string
defense in a preseason game Sunday.

He was pleased, of course, to see Williams go 5-for-6 for 97 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. But while fans checked the latest MVP odds, Johnson saw it as one more small step toward where Williams needs to be.

‘‘All I really care about is to see us improve,’’ Johnson said matter-of-factly. ‘‘You see the points and you see some of those stats, and it’s easy to get excited. But we just keep the main thing the main thing here.’’

Johnson has treated Williams like any other young quarterback, flipping the power dynamic from last season, when Williams had far more long-term security than coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Johnson turned down other jobs for years before signing on with the Bears and tying his success to Williams, and he’s not about to coach him carelessly.

And, so far, Williams has been receptive to the approach. He sees that accountability and unambiguous feedback can make him better if he’s willing to listen and learn. He hardly sounded Sunday like someone who thought he had arrived as a quarterback.

‘‘From a month ago, I’ve grown a lot. Now, my mindset is to keep growing,’’ Williams said. ‘‘The idea is to be able to handle every single thing that Ben says I should be able to handle.’’

Johnson mentioned Williams’ nonlinear development and said the mix of advancements and retreats ‘‘has really been the story of his training camp.’’ He has had some strong practices, particularly last week, but also some in which Johnson told him, ‘‘That’s not good enough, bud.’’

Williams craved that last season and didn’t get it. And while Johnson is a first-time head coach who hasn’t proved anything yet, there’s no doubt he has more expertise than Eberflus and Waldron. Even when it’s not clicking for Williams, he trusts what Johnson is telling him.

‘‘Being able to keep growing and be the humble guy and keep learning is the most important thing for me,’’ Williams said.

He has talked about a ‘‘growth mindset’’ throughout the offseason and preseason, which means using failures as opportunities to get better.

Williams also has talked about that in reference to last season, when he was up and down throughout. Not all of that can be blamed on Eberflus, Waldron and a shaky offensive line. He was indecisive at times, tried too hard to buy time in the pocket rather than making the easy pass or throwing the ball away to avoid a sack and had trouble with throwing accuracy.

He finished with a rookie season that was good by Bears standards but far from the hype and his own enormous expectations. His 62.5 completion percentage was particularly problematic, and he finished 33rd in the NFL and fourth in his draft class in that category. Johnson wants that to be at 70% or better.

Williams is unlikely to play in the preseason finale Friday at the Chiefs, but this is still a huge week for him.

Johnson saw strong performances Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the last of which was a joint practice with the Bills, and in the game Sunday, which were ‘‘the most good days he’s stacked up in a row.’’ But, he added, ‘‘The challenge is going to be to keep pushing in that direction.’’

The optimism will taper off again if Williams goes backward in practice Tuesday and Wednesday and the Bears are running out of time to get ready for the season. Johnson likely will begin installing the game plan for the opener Sept. 8 against the Vikings when the Bears get back from Kansas City.

Once they make their final cuts next Tuesday, there’s no reason to delay focusing on the specific opponent. The Bears might even start that Monday, taking a full two weeks to scheme for the Vikings.

That’s when everyone will see whether Williams is ready and how much more time it might take. The Vikings were a top-10 defense last season, just like the Lions, who await the Bears in Week 2. That’s going to be the first real look at the Johnson-Williams partnership. And while they might need until deep into the season to operate at full capacity, it’ll be pretty clear at that point how much growing Williams has done and how much still needs to happen.