Bears offense, Caleb Williams misfire in Ben Johnson’s head coaching debut

CHICAGO — It was a tale of two halves for the Chicago Bears, who led 17-6 at the midway point of the game.

Ben Johnson’s offense started with a bang, driving 61 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown after their defense forced a three-and-out. Caleb Williams finished the drive 6-of-6 passing, capping it off with a nine-yard scramble run to the end zone. It was Williams’ first career rushing touchdown.

Until the Bears’ last offensive possession, it was the unit’s lone touchdown of the night.

The Bears’ defense held strong through the first 33 minutes of the game, even posting a touchdown of their own, but ultimately spent too much time on the field, wearing down before eventually being exposed by the Vikings’ backfield.

Jordan Mason gashed the Bears’ run defense in the second half, averaging 4.5 yards per carry in the game. J.J. McCarthy, making his first NFL start, added a 14-yard touchdown run.

McCarthy also settled in nicely after throwing a pick-six to Nahshon Wright to begin the second half. The Vikings’ quarterback finished just 13-of-20 passing for 143 yards, but his two big-time touchdown passes willed his team back into a game that felt like it was approaching getting out of hand early in the second half.

The Bears made it a three-point game with 2:02 left in the game. However, Cairo Santos’ attempt to boot the ensuing kickoff through the endzone was short of the backline and returned to eliminate an extra clock stoppage at the two-minute warning.

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ADAM HOGE

Predictably, negative plays ended up being the story of this game. Everything changed when Darnell Wright was called for a debatable holding call, which was immediately followed by an intentional grounding on Caleb Williams.

Instead of being deep into the red zone with a 17-6 lead, the Bears were backed up, and Cairo Santos missed a 50-yard field goal.

From there, it was all Vikings. After scoring on their first drive of the game, the Bears’ offense simply wasn’t good enough the rest of the game, and special teams really let them down. There’s a lot to fix if the Bears want to beat the Lions in Week 2.

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ADAM JAHNS

How does the saying go? It’s not how you start but how you finish. That’s it, right?

The Vikings got better as the game went on, specifically quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was the best player in the game in the fourth quarter, throwing two touchdown passes and running in another. There is plenty to get through in this game. Ben Johnson’s debut as the Bears’ new head coach definitely didn’t go as hoped.

But it was still a matchup between two quarterbacks taken in the first round last year and who now play for division rivals. Round 1 went to McCarthy. Williams struck first with his nine-yard touchdown run on the Bears’ opening drive. But McCarthy got in the winning blows when it mattered most in the final quarter. It all felt very Bears-like.

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MARK CARMAN

This one hurts. Up 17-6 with Soldier Field buzzing, this one felt… comfortable. Cairo Santos’ missed field goal seemed to give the Vikings a boost of energy.

A questionable call on Tyrique Stevenson gave the Vikings life when the Bears’ defense was running out of gas. The Bears’ offense did not score a touchdown from after the first drive until 2:02 was left in the 4th quarter. Beyond disappointing.

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GREG BRAGGS JR.

Well, the Bears still need to learn how to win. Up 17-6 with the game in their hands, the Vikings score 21 unanswered points — a team that has known how to win the last few years under Kevin O’Connell.

Ben Johnson will be losing sleep over the presnap penalties that cost the Bears many opportunities to throw the knockout punch.

But the biggest momentum shift of the game came in the form of a holding call on Darnell Wright. And it was a very questionable one. That ruined the Bears’ best opportunity to put the game out of reach. Gotta give J.J. McCarthy a lot of credit. After a pick 6, he stood in there and showed some real toughness with 3 touchdowns after. Bears’ special teams also had a very bad day at the office, including a missed field goal by Cairo Santos.

Bottom line, the Bears still have a long way to go to learn how to win. But in Ben Johnson, I trust.

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PATRICK NORTON

Three moments stood out to me that I’m sure Ben Johnson would like to have back after his head coaching debut:

1. Losing a timeout on a challenge that didn’t have a prayer of succeeding. The Bears’ video staff needed to support its head coach better in a moment that ultimately felt like Johnson’s decision to throw the challenge flag was made by the reaction of the sideline and crowd.
   
2. Not attempting an onside with 2:02 left in the game. Cairo Santos didn’t have the leg to do what needed to be done. Either kick it out of bounds and take the penalty or onside it. They chose Option C and paid the price, losing the two-minute warning in the process.
   
3. Going for it on fourth down in field goal range. Hindsight is 20/20, so consider this the least egregious miss. But points matter — even when it’s just three.