Since Ben Johnson took over as the Bears’ head coach, he has been transparent with the media.

The Monday after a 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday, Johnson shared his honest opinion of the Bears’ passing attack through this point of the season.

“We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it,” Johnson said in his Zoom press conference with reporters. “None of us are pleased with that right now.”

Quarterback Caleb Williams completed 17 of 36 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown with one interception. But the Bears leaned on their ground game for 281 yards and improved to 9-3 on the season with the win.

The day after Johnson openly spoke about his team’s passing game, he felt the need to clarify his words.

“I think when I made that comment yesterday, it is easily construed as I’m not happy with the quarterback,” Johnson said. “That’s not the case whatsoever. He continues to get better each and every week, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how he played last week, and I know what the stats say. Throw those out the window. He’s doing a really good job managing the ballgame, and that’s step No. 1 for the quarterback. He’s going to continue to get better.

“The process is really good right now with how he approaches the week. The way he’s taken the coaching, the way he’s applying the coaching, I’m very pleased with that, and I think we’re going to continue to see him ascend, whether the stats tell the story or not.”

In the Bears’ current five-game winning streak, the second-year pro has averaged a 53.2 completion percentage. He has completed 58.1 percent of his passes this season, well below the 70 percent standard that he and Johnson set in June.

According to ESPN, just five quarterbacks have a worse completion percentage among those who “have at least 14 attempts per team’s games played.” They are Russell Wilson (58.0), Jameis Winston (56.9), Joe Burrow (54.9), J.J. McCarthy (54.1) and Shedeur Sanders (50.8).

But the Bears still have found ways to win games.

[READ: Bears mailbag: How will Ben Johnson, Matt LaFleur impact Packers rivalry?]

Completion percentage is only one stat, which doesn’t tell the full story. Williams even said Tuesday: “Take the stats out, go watch some ball and you’ll be able to really see.”

There’s truth to that, but some stats also reflect positively on Williams and the Bears’ passing game.

His 12.8 percent of pressures turned into sacks is the sixth lowest in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 258 drop-backs this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Williams has been sacked just 19 times, ranking him 20th in the league, as he gives the Bears’ offense opportunities even when the opposing defense applies pressure.

The Bears committed just one pre-snap penalty — a false start by veteran guard Joe Thuney — in a hostile road environment against the Eagles. That’s a credit to Williams and the entire unit being in rhythm. Pre-snap penalties were a major issue at the beginning of the season.

And Williams believes the Bears’ passing game is on the verge of breaking through as they prepare for Sunday’s showdown with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

“Yeah, it’s so close,” Williams said. “I mean, if you look at last game, there was, obviously, I had the two that where I should have hit, you know, thrown to the right side, Rome [Odunze] and DJ [Moore], and then right time and right everything, miss. And then we have the other couple players where the guys slip, but it’s right time and right spot, it’s just a guy slips. Then we had a couple where it was just miscommunication on him breaking in or out and things like that.

“So, we were in the right spot, right time and it’s just not on the same page. So, that’s really what it’s come down to. So, us going back and watching film and looking at it and all that. We’re so close, and we’ll be hitting here soon.”

Again, there’s truth to Williams’ words, but he needs to prove to himself, his teammates, his coaches and Bears fans that he can consistently hit open targets that have been schemed up in Johnson’s play designs. That will be the true indicator that this Bears passing offense is taking off in the right direction.