Sunday could not have gone much worse for the Chicago Bears. Their home opener was spoiled with soaked weather, inept offense, a loss to a divisional opponent, and an injury to their most important player on the team. The Bears fell to the Minnesota Vikings 9-3 and potentially lost quarterback Caleb Williams for a significant period of time due to a hamstring injury late in the game.
After trading field goals to begin the game, neither offense could muster many points the rest of the way. Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz struggled to find a rhythm, while Williams was under duress thanks to Brian Flores' defense. The Bears did have a shot to take the lead on a long drive that got them to the doorstep of the end zone, but a fumble by running back D'Andre
Swift ended any scoring threat.
The Bears had another chance to get into the end zone to take the lead, but Williams fell awkwardly while carrying the ball in the red zone and exited with a hamstring injury. Chicago failed to convert the trip into points yet again as the Vikings blocked a field goal, and their last trip to the red zone with backup quarterback Tyson Bagent ended in a sack as time expired.
It was a bleak day for Bears fans who lamented losses on multiple fronts. Here were our takeaways from Sunday.
1. The health of Caleb Williams is what's most important
Losing a one-score divisional game at home hurts quite a bit, but it pales in comparison to possibly losing the star quarterback for an extended period of time. The story of the day is obviously the health of Caleb Williams following his hamstring strain, and we should know the severity sometime on Monday. At the time of this writing, it seems the news is trending more optimistic than originally thought, and Williams could only miss minimal time. Until the MRI happens, it's all speculation though.
This team will go as far as Williams will take them. Tyson Bagent may be able to keep the rig on the road for a short time, but he's not a long-term solution, no matter how many people or podcasts try to tell you otherwise. If Williams is out for the long term, the season is lost.
2. Ben Johnson got outcoached by Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores
You don't hear this often about Ben Johnson, but he got outcoached by both Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Neither offense could muster much when they had the ball in the wet and rainy conditions, but give credit to O'Connell for implementing a safe gameplan with no turnovers and minimal penalties on the road. Johnson had to abandon his run-first mentality at times due to back-breaking penalties. The Bears won the time of possession battle, had more yards (297 to 246), and had better third-down efficiency (33% to 23%). Minnesota took care of the ball, however, and came through in the clutch at the very end.
Defensively, Flores blitzed more than anticipated, which put the Bears in a blender. The run game was stifled, and the personnel couldn't stand up to the heat Flores was bringing, which warrants criticism for who was used and when. Johnson eventually found the answers to the test with some nice plays to counter the pressure late in the game, but they weren't properly executed. The 297 total yards of offense are third-worst in the Johnson era, and this is the first time the Bears failed to score a touchdown since the start of 2025. It just felt like Johnson only got the answers to the test midway through the game, and it was too late to save his grade.
3. Sam Roush wasn't ready for the moment
When the Bears broke camp and Sam Roush was (expectedly) their third tight end, it was an indication they felt confident in what he could bring to the table early on. Most TE3s don't see the field too often early in the season, but with the Bears running plenty of 13 personnel, Roush was going to get more playing time in certain situations. It seems the moment in Week 2 was too much for him, though.
Roush struggled mightily against the Vikings, committing multiple penalties and multiple drops, and seemingly missed his assignment on the blocked field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter. Both drops were egregious, as Williams couldn't have put the ball in better spots for the rookie and Roush wasn't on the same page as the offense with his pre-snap penalties.
This game is not a referendum on Roush's career. Far from it. Rookie tight ends normally can struggle early on. Just look at Cole Kmet's early days as a Bear. He should have never been in the position he was in on Sunday. It's too soon to rely heavily on someone like him, and I think Johnson knows it now. Eventually, Roush will be ready to make significant contributions.
4. The Bears miss Drew Dalman
From one Stanford player to another, it was difficult watching Garrett Bradbury play center on Sunday, which made me think of what could have been had Drew Dalman not unexpectedly retired earlier this offseason. Bradbury was getting moved around like a ragdoll and committed five penalties alone in the loss to the Vikings. Dalman had four penalties all year in 2025, including the postseason, and Bradbury had one in his lone season with the New England Patriots.
The line as a whole struggled, so this isn't to say Bradbury was the only culprit, but when you commit that many penalties and fail to protect the quarterback or consistently open up the run game, you're going to get scrutinized. The worst part is I'm not sure if the Bears trust Logan Jones to handle the job yet, meaning Bradbury isn't going anywhere. It's just a shame the team is back in this uncertain position with their center after seemingly solving it last offseason.
5. Giving the ball to D'Andre Swift on the goal line was the right call
The injury to Williams is the most important development from Sunday, but the D'Andre Swift fumble at the goal line changed the game. The Bears were about to complete their most successful drive of the day to take the lead on Minnesota when Swift had the ball punched out near the goal line, which was recovered by the Vikings defense. The reactions immediately called for Monangai to get those carries instead, saying Swift isn't built for goal line situations. I have to disagree.
There have been many instances where Swift has carried the ball inside the five-yard line with a good amount of success. He had instances just last week against the Panthers and did well in the role last year. Either back would have been fine in that situation; it was just a good defensive play at the worst time for the Bears. Swift may not be the prototypical "power back," but he's built stronger than you think to handle such plays.
6. Colston Loveland needs to be a priority in the offense
Last week, Colston Loveland's lack of production could be considered somewhat of a fluke. Especially with the team scoring eight touchdowns and totaling over 500 yards of offense. This week, something doesn't seem right. Loveland recorded his first catch of the season for three yards, but that was it. Of course, the Bears needed their tight ends to stay in and block the wave of defenders Flores was sending each play, but Loveland needs to be more involved in the passing offense.
The 2025 first-round pick has shown he's a unicorn and a matchup nightmare. Why is he staying in to block on the final play of the game when he would be best utilized running a route into the end zone? Loveland was left on the line to block quite a bit, but even when he was running routes, the Bears quarterbacks seldom looked his way. I don't understand, and better days will be coming for Loveland, but he could have been much more helpful on Sunday.
7. Aaron Jones will forever be a Bears killer
Death, taxes, and Aaron Jones making life miserable for the Chicago Bears. No matter how old he gets, Jones continues to produce against the Bears. He totaled 105 rushing yards on the ground, his first 100-yard rushing day since 2024, when he rushed for 106 yards against—you guessed it, the Bears. Three of Jones' last 100-yard rushing days have been against Bears defenses, proving he still is a problem to deal with.
Jones helped extend Minnesota's lead on the final drive with 25 of his 105 rushing yards to set up the field goal attempt by Will Reichard. Neither offense could muster much, but Jones was the best player on either side and played a significant role in the win. Frankly, I'm tired of him constantly taking it to the Bears defense and wish he would go away.
8. Beau Gardner may not be the answer at long snapper
We need to have a conversation about rookie long snapper Beau Gardner. In the last two weeks, he's shown a penchant for snapping the ball high on both punts and field goal attempts, which has slowed down the kicking operation. It finally bit the Bears with a blocked field goal that would have tied the game late.
While some of this falls on special teams coordinator Richard Hightower considering the Vikings now have two blocked field goal attempts against the Bears in the last two years, Gardner's high snaps are contributing to the problem. These have to get fixed; otherwise, the Bears need to be looking at alternative options.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 8 takeaways from the Bears' disheartening loss to the Vikings
