The Bears came into their Sunday matchup against the Lions eager to compete in head coach Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit. That fire seemed to die out pretty quickly.
Detroit dominated in every sense of the word, defeating the Bears 45-21 to drop Chicago to 0-2 to kick off the 2025 season. At least, that’s the score of the game at the time I’m publishing this article. I’m publishing before the game ends. I’ll update the piece accordingly if things change.
Things seemed encouraging enough when the Bears
scored a touchdown late in the first half, making the game a one-score matchup before getting the ball back at halftime. But as the Lions got the ball back, they quickly moved the ball down the field and scored a touchdown. Chicago then went three and out coming out of halftime, and Detroit completely pulled away.
There’s not much positive to take away from this game, so be warned. Here are the biggest takeaways from Chicago’s loss on Sunday.
Rome Odunze looks legit
Arguably the lone bright spot for the Bears was the play of second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze. He was dynamite in the first half, catching five passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Things slowed down for Chicago’s offense in the second half, but the connection between Odunze and Caleb Williams showed some encouraging flashes on Sunday. I hope you liked that blip of optimism, because it’s all downhill from here!
Secondary depth is an issue
Kyler Gordon missed his second game in a row on Sunday, and while Jaylon Johnson returned from missing Week 1 due to injury, he suffered another injury that took him out of the game in the first half. That left a cornerback tandem of Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright in the Bears’ secondary, and that proved to be an utter disaster.
Stevenson was consistently torched in coverage, giving up separation on the regular, regardless of which receiver he was covering. Wright wasn’t much better, either. There was one particular play where T.J. Edwards was tasked with covering Jameson Williams across the middle of the field, and that went above as well as you’d expect.
I think Chicago’s defense should eventually be better once two of their starting cornerbacks return from injury. But it’s very clear at this stage that Stevenson is not a capable starting cornerback, and the Bears’ depth at the position otherwise is pitiful.
Penalties galore
The Bears had some struggles on offense, and a lot of them were brought upon themselves by questionable penalties. That’s not to say questionable as in they shouldn’t have been called; the only major bad call by the referees was Isaac TeSlaa’s being ruled out of bounds.
Chicago’s offensive line had far too many instances of false start and holding penalties, making it difficult for the rest of the offense to maintain momentum as they tried to move the ball down the field. The penalties cleared up in the second half, but that resulted in the offensive line giving up more sacks. Checks out.
Where is the pass rush?
The Bears’ secondary at least has the excuse of missing two of their three starting cornerbacks against the Lions. What is their defensive line’s excuse for generating next to no pressure all afternoon?
Both of their starting edge rushers, Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, were healthy. They didn’t have any of their key defensive tackles out due to injury. Even with that, the pass rush was nonexistent. The Bears are paying those two edge rushers a lot of money, and they were both nowhere to be seen for much of the game. That’s a horrible indictment on Ryan Poles’ poor salary management up front.
