I’m not going to lie. I mentally went there last week. After the Bears scored 59 points against the Panthers in Week 1, I had conversations with my wife about what Super Bowl week in Los Angeles might look like if the Bears actually play in the game. 

Hey, it was technically Ben Johnson who started the hype. He’s the one who wants to break the NFL’s scoring record and the New England Patriots’ consecutive win record. But seeing is believing and seeing his offense break single-game records that were previously held by teams like the 1922 Canton Bulldogs made you believe it was all possible.

Then it rained in Chicago on Friday. 

And again on Saturday. 

Then again on Sunday at Soldier Field. 

And even though it was supposed to stop raining, it didn’t. It just kept raining.

Here are my “10 Bears Things” following a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

1. It’s hard to imagine a wilder swing of emotions for Bears fans between Week 1 and 2 of the 2026 season. 

Sure, the feeling of drunken despair on Sunday night was a familiar one. But the elation of scoring 59 points in Week 1 – against a seemingly good Panthers team – was so out of the ordinary that the words “Super Bowl” actually felt reasonable to say out loud. 

To go from that, which lasted until about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, to what was felt at 2:32 p.m. would have been poor taste for even the cruelest Packers fan to wish on the Bears, let alone actually realized inside Soldier Field. And the craziest thing is that it felt that way even before Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring/sniper injury on what otherwise could have been a go-ahead touchdown run.  

The Bears were stunningly bad on offense – like so bad that no amount of respect for Brian Flores or Chicago weather could have mentally prepared anyone for the idea the Bears would sabotage themselves to a grand total of three points. 

Receiver Kalif Raymond went out of bounds at the half-yard line a play before running back D’Andre Swift fumbled at the goal line. Rookie tight end Sam Roush – whose “welcome to the NFL” moment unfortunately lasted the full game – couldn’t hang on to a possible touchdown near the goal line. Had he caught that (or if Ben Johnson had kicked the game-tying field goal on fourth-and-1 three plays later), the Bears offense wouldn’t have been on the field when Williams got hurt. 

Would Williams’ hamstring have given out later in the fourth quarter anyway? Who knows. 

But these are the mental gymnastics you’re bound to twist yourself in on such an awful day at Soldier Field.

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