It’s Week 2 – and the Bears have their first NFC North game of the season on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. 

Here’s everything you need to know from the podium to the Bears locker room to the injury report before kickoff.

Bears vs. Vikings: Week 2 game details

Kickoff: Sunday, September 20, 2026, at noon CT. Location: Soldier Field, Chicago. TV: FOX, subject to local broadcast coverage. See the Bears’ official viewing guide for viewing and listening options.

Follow CHGO’s Chicago Bears news and analysis and listen to the CHGO Bears Podcast for more coverage of the matchup.

1. Right tackle Darnell Wright is fine – and left tackle Ozzy Trapilo is getting closer and closer.

It’s a long season. It wasn’t surprising to see Wright on the injury report with a knee injury on Wednesday. Players get banged up. But Wright was back on the field on Thursday – and he has no injury designation for Sunday. 

In fact, none of the players on the Bears’ injury report this week have a designation for the Vikings game. 

That includes backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, who missed the opener with a back injury, running backs D’Andre Swift (ankle/knee) and Kyle Monangai (hamstring), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (shoulder) and rookie nickel back Malik Muhammad II (ankle). 

Trapilo, though, is the real headliner on the report.

His return feels imminent. Trapilo was questionable in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. And now there’s no designation for him. Trapilo (torn patellar tendon in January) was a full participant in Friday’s light practice after being limited for two days before that. 

It’s too early to project what this means for left tackle Braxton Jones. Trapilo could probably use more practice time to regain strength and mobility. 

But the Bears have also maintained that their competition at left tackle will remain open. 

2. The Bears have confidence in veteran defensive back Cam Lewis if safety Xavier Woods still needs time with his groin injury. 

Last week, Woods went through a pre-game workout at Bank of America Stadium before being ruled out against Carolina. Lewis then learned that he would start next to rookie Dillon Thieneman.

“I always prepare for nickel, safety and then dime if we have that in that week,” Lewis said. “Whatever happens, I’m prepared for it all.”

Woods doesn’t have an injury designation for Week 2 but he was limited on Wednesday and Thursday before becoming a full participant on Friday, which was a lighter day. So it’s possible that Lewis starts again at safety. 

“One of the big reasons why we went out and got him is because we do feel like he’s versatile and can fill a lot of roles,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. 

3. The Bears are ready for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores to throw the kitchen sink at Caleb Williams – or not.

The unknown is what makes facing Flores difficult but also fun for Ben Johnson – regardless of the lack of sleep it causes.

But plans will surely be in place for Williams. 

“I think it’s on us to simplify his thought process as much as possible. If this happens, here’s your answer,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “If that happens, here’s your contingency plan. And then it’s the process he’s going to put in and that’s something about going against these guys. It takes every moment of every single day to feel like you’re prepared for what’s going to come. 

“And then they’re going to throw a wrinkle at us, so now you’ve got to fall back on basically the standard operating procedure we set in place right here. We may have to adjust on the sideline of what that play is, but I think we’ll do our very best to give him a clear, concise process for each play and then it’s on him to execute that and it’s on us to adjust if things change.” 

Johnson is 5-1 against Flores, which includes going 1-1 last year with Williams. But the Bears’ offensive production still was lacking in their 19-17 win last season in Minnesota. Williams only had 193 passing yards and a 68.9 rating.

That was Year 1 for Williams and Johnson together, though. 

The Bears’ offensive output against the Panthers in Week 1 feels like the start of a different story.

“Coach calls this ‘mental war’ when you go against (Flores), and that’s what it is,” Williams said. “You’ve got to be able to go out there and bad things are going to happen. You’ve got to be able to fight back and stay steady. That’s one of the biggest things is not allowing his defense and all of that to fluster you and get in your mind. You stay steady – and now it’s time to go make plays and get completions. And when the big ones show up, take them and find them.”

4. Caleb Williams’ legs will always be a weapon for the Bears’ offense – but the opponent matters when it comes to designed runs.

Williams finished with 65 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries against the Panthers. But a bulk of that yardage came on improvised plays. According to Pro Football Reference, 8 of those 10 runs for Williams were scrambles.

The use of designed runs for him depends on matchups every week.

“A lot of times it’s when we have a really good feel for how the defensive ends are going to play and what that looks like,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “If there’s schemes where we know it’s a quarterback keep – no matter what – again we’re conscious of where the ball is going to go, what that could look like, and then he’s aware of the situation we’re putting him in.

“There’s times where you go to lower your head and get a yard for us, whatever it may be, and I think he understands those. I think there’s always going to be a fine line you’re balancing with your quarterback carrying the football, but it’s something we feel like we can utilize in the right pieces. It gives us an advantage.” 

5. The Bears defense prepared for both Vikings quarterbacks this week: Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz.

Murray was ruled out Friday for Week 2 at Soldier Field after suffering a concussion in the opener against the Green Bay Packers. 

“The No. 1 thing: we have to defend the Vikings’ offense, the offensive scheme,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “I’ve had the opportunity to go against Kevin O’Connell a number of times and schematically there are similarities within every game plan I’ve seen. And yet there are always a few wrinkles they throw at us. I think when you look at the two quarterbacks, probably the biggest difference really is Kyler’s ability to get out and create with his feet. That’s a big part of what makes him special at the quarterback position. So I think that is really the difference between the two quarterbacks in my mind.”

6. The Bears expect to get bounce-back games from cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson – but the Vikings still have superstar receiver Justin Jefferson.

“From my perspective, I would say he doesn’t have a weakness,” Johnson said of Jefferson. “There’s nothing that he can’t do. I would say he’s good getting off press. He’s good (at) route running. You give him space, and then he can catch it and go the distance. So guys like that, you just gotta change up the looks, make them uncomfortable, switch up techniques and things like that. But for the most part, you’ve just got to go out there and compete.”

Defensive backs coach Al Harris said Johnson and Stevenson were “super bummed out” about their performances in Week 1. According to Pro Football Reference, Bryce Young had a perfect passer rating while targeting Stevenson.

“I was bummed out; they were bummed out,” Harris said. “The silver lining is that we got the dub. First game. It is what it is, but our standard is the standard. So they came back ready to work, watched the tape, took accountability. I was impressed with the day after, I should say.”

7. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower will find a way to get the ball in the hands of rookie returner Zavion Thomas.

The Panthers kicked off only to Josh Blackwell in Week 1. He finished with four returns for 85 yards. Thomas was drafted to deliver more than that. 

But the opponents know that, too.

“When you take a look at that game, they definitely were kicking the ball away from him,” Hightower said. “So, you know, we want the ball in his hands. We’re going to do everything we can to get the ball in his hands. And he’s gotta go get some of those, which we’re going to make sure that he is working to do that. But they definitely tried to pin it in the corner and tried to keep it away from him. I haven’t seen that this early on but it is what it is.”

A different strategy will be needed. 

“This week, he will have to go get some of those if he’s able to go get them,” Hightower said. “Those in the (Panthers) game, I didn’t think he was able to get them. They strategically wanted to kick away from him and they kicked away from him all game and that’s what they did.”

8. The high amount of missed tackles from the Bears defense in Week 1 wasn’t surprising to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, but they were still disappointing.

“I think if you go throughout the National Football League, in Week 1, the tackling usually is not up to standard,” Allen said. “As I saw some of these other games throughout the league, you see a lot of missed tackles. I think part of that is a product of not very much tackling going on in the preseason. 

“And so, you look at like you do everything else: why does a missed tackle occur? And more often, it is a fundamental technique flaw. Guys not taking proper angles, guys not doing a good job of coming to balance, guys lunging and leaving their feet instead of running through the tackle.”

The Bears had some of that against the Panthers. But that’s also what surprised Allen. Linebacker T.J. Edwards – one of the Bears’ best tacklers – missed the most in Week 1.

“I thought we were a pretty good tackling team throughout the course of the preseason,” Allen said. “It didn’t show up as well as I would’ve liked to against Carolina. So that’s again another one of those things that we’re looking to improve.”

9. Safety Harrison Smith is an extension of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores on the field – just like Caleb Williams is for Ben Johnson.

And he’s part of the chess match on Sunday.

How much, though, still needs to play out.

Smith re-signed with the Vikings on Sept. 5 for his 15th season with the franchise. He was on the field for only 38 percent of Minnesota’s defensive snaps in Week 1. 

“He’s like their quarterback. He’s like their defensive coordinator on the field,” Ben Johnson said. “This guy, it’s a battle with him as much as it is with Flores because you see him in and out of the checks. You make a check, he’s making a check. Play that game just back and forth, in and out. He is, without knowing him, looks like super smart. He’s all over the place. He’s a step ahead. I got a tremendous amount of respect for him. So if he’s out there, I think last week was more situational, and yet he is a problem. He’s a major problem.”

10. Running back D’Andre Swift isn’t here to win Nickelodeon Player of the Week or NFC Player of the Week honors.

He earned both for his three-touchdown performance in Week 1. 

“For me personally, man, shoutout to the offensive line and the receivers,” Swift said. “It wasn’t possible without them. It’s really a team award for real when it comes to me.”

He’s here to celebrate the blocks that the “little guys” – which includes himself in pass protection – make to ignite explosive plays in the Bears offense. 

“(It’s) just relentless effort from the guys up front and the receivers,” Swift said. “Ben, as he always said, (it’s) the little guys blocking and doing big things. That’s what we need for us backs to make things happen in the second and third level because that’s an opportunity to make the explosive plays happen.”