As the echo of the referee’s whistle rang after each offensive play throughout Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, Caleb Williams immediately heard a voice in his helmet.

It was new Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown barking in the next play for his rookie quarterback.

“Sometimes it’s a little tougher to hear right in that moment, because it’s a positive play, so he’ll just keep repeating it,” Williams said after the Bears’ crushing 20-19 loss to the Packers at Soldier Field.

Buzzing in the next call that fast allowed Williams and the Bears’ offense to get in and out of the huddle quicker, line up faster and allow them to use different snap counts and rhythms all game.

“Now you can use all your different cadences like we were doing today, and mixing it up so that D-line can’t get a jump on the snap,” Williams said.

The results produced a more fluid and efficient operation, one that generated 391 yards of total offense, their third highest total this season and the most since their Week 5 win over Carolina.

“It was really moving,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. “We didn’t have too many times where the clock was winding down. That’s much better than it has been, and I thought TB did a good job of moving on to the next play.

“As I’m sure you all have noticed, he’s a pretty direct guy, no-nonsense. I think guys really bought into that this week.”

There were a few noticeable differences between the Bears offense under Brown and the unit that had stagnated the last few weeks under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

They used more pre-snap motion against the Packers, moving receivers to allow Williams to gain a better read of the defense and opening more windows for their receivers.

“I think that was the conversation during the course of the week was getting the ball to our skill players,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “Really just about getting the ball in the hands of our skill players and letting them go. You saw that in a couple things to Rome and a couple things to DJ [Moore], in creative ways and being creative that way. That’s what it is. You put the ball in the hands of the players, of the skill players that are really good players.”

The Bears’ formations were different, too. Receivers were tighter to the offensive line and occasionally bunched up more. Brown called for more zone reads, too, utilizing Williams’ legs or the running backs to gain crucial yards on short-yardage situations.

[WATCH: Breaking down Caleb Williams’ read option run]

“I thought he put us in position to have success, and the whole coaching staff as a whole, through preparation this week,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “Felt good. It was a good vibe, and I thought they executed well on the game plan for four quarters. So, I appreciate Thomas Brown and the offensive staff.” 

It might not have ultimately resulted in a win — and the Bears know they desperately need them at this point in the year — but the early results are encouraging with Brown at the helm offensively. The players noticed it from the start.

“TB, at the start of the week, listed all the things that we needed to do for this game and nothing had to do with the opponent,” Kmet said. “That was pretty cool to see and guys really bought into that. I think that showed up, for the most part. It’s a step in the right direction and we did a lot of things that we can bring over from week to week.