The cliché of the week for Chicago Bears fans is “the bye week is coming at the perfect time.”
The team is struggling with injuries. And their weaknesses nearly cost them the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We know injuries ravage the secondary, which is also the weakest part of the defense.
The running backs are banged up, to say the least.
The Bears have also turned the ball over way more than they did in 2025. Plus, they’ve been penalized a lot, too.
All that said, though, they’re still 7-2
and currently in first place in the division, despite their two losses being to division opponents.
And the schedule gets tougher from here.
The Bears need to have both a productive and restful bye week in order to finish out the season, correct the things they can and secure a playoff berth for the second-straight year.
Let’s get into a review of the Bucs game.
Stock up
Jaylon Johnson, CB – We should all celebrate Johnson’s 67-yard pick-six. Johnson, a target for criticism this season, made a fantastic play and helped lift the team when the offense was stuck. It wasn’t unlike the interception he had last year against the Cleveland Browns. It was a nice moment for a player who’s often looked like his best football is behind him.
Devin Bush, LB – I was critical of Bush just a couple weeks ago, and correctly, told. I was wrong by you, the readers. And I appreciate that. I cannot deny though, that Bush was awesome against Tampa. He was flying around, making plays everywhere. He led the Bears with nine tackles, two passes defensed and a tackle for loss.
Cameron Lewis, DB – Cam Lewis nabbed his first interception since 2024. He also finished with five tackles and a pass breakup. For a player who was seen more as a depth piece and back up, he’s played well.
Stock down
Caleb Williams, QB – This is not a long-term down. In fact, if it were a real stock market, I’d be buying the dip. But after four interceptions, he has to get knocked a little bit. Two of them were on throwaways that just didn’t make it to the sideline, one was a tipped pass. The other was just a case of trusting his arm a little too much and getting fooled by Tampa’s disguise. The main reason I’m not worried is that it’s a total outlier in his career. It was the first time he’s had more than two interceptions in a game. All of his other regular-season multi-interception games came as a rookie. In fact, they were the second and third games of his career. So for his first 3+ interception game to come in game No. 40, I feel like is an OK thing.
D’Andre Swift, RB – The bye week is much needed for Swift. The running game has looked rough against two fo the best run defenses in the league. It’s gotten the job done at times, but it hasn’t looked the best. Swift has looked banged up. Hopefully a week off will get him rested and ready for the stretch run of the season. And getting his stablemate, Kyle Monangai, back will help too.
Zavion Thomas, WR – The rookie nearly earned a spot in the stock up category this week. His kick return was brilliant, and called back through no fault of his own. The one pass he didn’t catch wasn’t the easiest catch to make, so I wasn’t going to hold it against him. But his penalty for unnecessary roughness after a play, back Chicago up and Caleb was intercepted on the next play. While I don’t think everything that happened afterward was a direct result, it certainly shifted momentum in the moment. He didn’t get another offensive snap after it. Players just can’t make those kinds of mistakes.
Who is up and down in your eyes this week? Next week, I’ll look at who is up and down for the season so far. Let me know who’s caught your eye through the first nine games.
