

I did not see that one coming. Neither, likely, did anyone else. When Ben Johnson warned everyone after a great question from a stellar reporter about his team perhaps being overconfident after scoring 59 points in Week 1, Johnson emphatically said they had not “put up any points this week.”
They ended up scoring three. Woof.
Offensive line issues. No. 1 receiver issues. All of that pales in comparison to quarterback Caleb Williams leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Nightmare Sunday for the Bears, who lost their home opener to the Minnesota Vikings, 9-3. On to the grades.
Quarterback: C
Williams did not have his best day. He was constantly flushed out of the pocket and the ball rarely came out on time. Weather was a factor. The offensive line was a factor. Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores confusing the Bears was probably the biggest factor.
The Bears’ QB took too many chances with his legs, putting himself in harm’s way vying for extra yards. He also showed his elusiveness over and over again, so I get why he takes risks that other quarterbacks simply are incapable of. He is that talented. And he needs to be more protective of himself.
Williams finished 15-for-26 for 138 yards passing. His completion rate was just shy of 58 percent — roughly the same as last year. The hope was that the Bears offense would hit some level of consistency. It did not happen Sunday.
Tyson Bagent got the Bears in position to win the game. Not sure why Bagent did not clock it after his completion to Luther Burden III at the 12-yard line. Bagent hit Burden three times on the final drive, the only three catches Burden had on the day.
Bagent went to him one more time, but Burden was not expecting the pass and did not play the jump ball aggressively. One more incompletion, and then a sack to end the game.
Running Backs: B
D’Andre Swift fumbling at the goal line was a killer. Swift finished with 99 total yards but did not have that game-changing run that could have given the Bears some breathing room. His longest rush was 12 yards.
Kyle Monangai rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries. Perhaps Monangai, who never fumbles, should have been given the ball at the goal line instead of Swift. But consider — Swift’s fumble at the one-yard line is extremely rare for him. You have to go back to Dec. 20, 2020, with Detroit for the last time it happened. All that said, I still probably like Monangai more at the goal line. That is more on the coaches, though, than the running backs.
Offensive Line: D
Garrett Bradbury is struggling, to put it mildly. Four penalties Sunday is too many over the course of three weeks, let alone one game. The Vikings seemed to have a game plan on how to take advantage of Bradbury.
They took advantage of the entire offensive line, though. On the final play, Colston Loveland is one-on-one with the Vikings’ best pass rusher, Dallas Turner. Jonah Jackson is not blocking anyone. How is this possible?
Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet divvied up reps at left tackle. It seemed like Jones was pulled mid-first half after a holding penalty. Johnson put him back in in the second half. It was a rough day overall up front.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: D
Rome Odunze had a drop. Sam Roush looked like he needs some time on the practice squad. Roush dropped a touchdown pass from Williams that would’ve ended the drive the QB eventually got hurt on. He had another drop on an easy ball in the middle of the field. He also was the main culprit on the field goal block, not blocking anyone as Isaiah Rodgers came in untouched.
Most importantly, where was Loveland other than getting beat on the final play of the game on a blocking assignment he should not have been assigned? Loveland has one catch through two games. This is hard to understand. Cole Kmet did not have a catch on one target. Neither Luther Burden III nor Odunze look anywhere close to a true No. 1 receiver.
Kalif Raymond had another solid day, leading all receivers with five catches on five targets. Raymond cannot be the Bears’ best receiver if they are going to score upper-level points.
Defensive Line/Linebackers: B+
Massive improvement from Week 1. T.J. Edwards had a big tackle from behind early in the fourth quarter on third-and-14, running down DeeJay Dallas to get the offense the ball back. Edwards clipped rookie Demond Claiborne in the second quarter on another third down. Good to see Edwards looking like himself.
Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo were both credited with sacks. James Lynch tied for the team lead with seven tackles. Anytime you hold a team to single digits, you are doing the job up front.
Secondary: B
Tyrique Stevenson got beat early, but came back strong. Stevenson got his head turned around to deflect a pass intended for Justin Jefferson. Excellent fundamentals and execution. Stevenson looked like a linebacker taking the helmet off Aaron Jones Sr. Not sure how that wasn’t a helmet-to-helmet hit, but you love to see a defensive back hit that way.
Dillon Thieneman tied for the team lead with seven tackles and Malik Muhammad II had his first sack. The rookies backed up their Week 1 performance.
Jaylon Johnson still seems a ways away from his peak form, getting spun around a couple of times. But it was a step in the right direction.
Special Teams: D
Sam Roush needs to be demoted until further notice. Long snapper Beau Gardner had a couple of high snaps. The field goal block was a killer. The Bears would have been set up to at least tie the game instead of being forced to go for a touchdown on the final possession.
Zavion Thomas has yet to be impactful on kick return. Thomas could have let one kickoff fly into the endzone, but he caught it and did not make it past the 20. The ball could have been on the 40.
Coaching: C
I will always believe in Ben Johnson, but he did not have his best day. Johnson will get a large part of the credit when the Bears score 59, and he will get a good part of the blame when they score three. There is no way the game can end with Loveland blocking Turner.
Where is Colston Loveland? Why is Sam Roush getting the same amount of targets? As good as the offense looked in Week 1, they have a lot of work to do to be able to compete with the Eagles next Monday night.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen gets credit for his defense playing much better. And special teams coordinator Richard Hightower has to find a better option than Roush.
