Caleb Williams explains what's different about Bears under Ben Johnson

Second-year Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams went 5-12 as a starter amid what became a frustrating rookie season. To compare, Williams and Co. improved to 5-3 under first-year head coach Ben Johnson via a thrilling 47-42 win at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9.

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Williams indicated he's enjoying life with the Bears much more than he was roughly 12 months ago. 

Caleb Williams shares how Bears have improved under Ben Johnson

"I think it's just a different year, different vibe," Williams explained, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN. "I think we've done a good job in some of those games; I would say that last year we didn't do a good job in close games, tight games. I think we've won those games, and now we need to get to the point where we're hitting on all cylinders as a team, all three phases of football, to be able to go out there and put up a lot of points and keep the other side with the least amount of points possible."

With under 30 seconds remaining in regulation of the Bengals contest, Williams connected with rookie tight end Colston Loveland for what became a game-winning 58-yard touchdown. Chicago started the season at 0-2 but has since gone 5-1. 

Williams previously admitted that he was brought to "tears" as he was "beat-up mentally, physically, spiritually" during a rookie campaign that included the in-season firings of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus. While Williams is still far from a finished product, he looked like a true franchise quarterback against the woeful Cincinnati defense. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Williams began Thursday ranked 19th in the NFL among qualified players with a 55.2 adjusted QBR and a 93.5 passer rating. Over his first eight games, he tossed 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions. 

Ben Johnson hyped for what Caleb Williams will be

"I do think he's getting better every week," Johnson said about Williams. "There's ups and there's downs. And some weeks are better than others, which we knew. But he's in a lot better place now with his process than he was to start the season. The week isn't necessarily smooth sailing always, but I think that's to be expected with Year 1 in a new system. So he's learning, and he's spending a lot of time at it, so I'm very pleased with his approach. I think we've got the right group of guys around him to help support him. And so I think we're going to continue to see him take off here the second half of the season."

The Bears start the second half of the campaign with a home game versus the New York Giants (2-7) this Sunday. As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had Chicago as a 4.5-point favorite for that matchup.