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That felt too much like watching a game last year…or the year before, or the year before that.
Botched special teams, costly penalties, stalled drives and a heartbreaking finish…
We’ve seen it all before, yet here we are. Then again, I think we ought to give Ben Johnson more than one game.
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Vikings 27, Bears 24
It all started so promising. The Bears’ defense forced a three-and-out on the first drive and Caleb Williams and the offense marched down the field for a relatively methodical touchdown drive.
So, what went wrong?
PENALTIES GALORE: The Bears committed 12 penalties worth 127 yards last night. While some certainly felt ticky-tack, too many came during the pre-snap procedure, setting up the Bears’ offense for failure.
Ben Johnson on the penalties: “When you look down at the stat sheet and you see 12 penalties, that's got to get cleaned up in a hurry, yet we've been saying that all training camp, as well. We'll find a way to get that done. It's going to be a collective effort. No one's pointing fingers.”
On penalties stalling the offense: “When you have the penalties, hard to establish the run game quite like we wanted to. It felt like we were behind the sticks most of the time. Second-and-long, third-and-long is where we lived, which was a struggle for us offensively.”
SPECIAL TEAMS MISCUES: A missed field goal, a tipped punt, and a kickoff that needed to go through the back of the endzone landing too short can’t all happen in the same week, let alone the same quarter.
Richard Hightower’s special teams unit was hardly the Bears’ biggest problem, but Monday night’s result could’ve looked different had the phase been on its Ps & Qs.
Johnson said the Bears considered an onside attempt with 2:02 left before ultimately choosing to kick it deep.
Johnson added: “We felt like if we would have kicked it out of the end zone, gotten the three-and-out, we'd have gotten the ball back with about 56 seconds.”
The Bears successfully forced the three-and-out. However, without the benefit of the two-minute warning, they got the ball back with nine seconds left on the clock.
It was the little things for the Bears. But the little things add up and become big things. What Johnson and company have to do this week is ensure they avoid making the same mistakes next week in Detroit.
That said, let’s see how things shake out for the defense at full strength. Dennis Allen’s group seemed out of gas in the fourth quarter, but the first three were an altogether solid performance, especially without T.J. Edwards, Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson.
As for the offense and Williams, it just has to be better. The quarterback needs to be better, especially when it comes to downfield accuracy.
We expected growing pains as the group acclimates to the new offense at game speed. But the penalties simply can’t carry into next week. That has to be priority No. 1 in practice this week.
UNINSPIRED: After Shota Imanaga allowed three runs in the first inning last night in Atlanta, the Cubs’ lineup seemingly opted out of the next eight innings at the plate.
The Cubs mustered one run on five hits, failing to string much of anything together against Bryce Elder. The Braves’ bullpen tacked on 2.2 flawless innings in relief.
It’s another missed opportunity to claw back into the divisional race with the Brewers losing to the Texas Rangers yesterday. Instead, the focus seems to have shifted to the NL Wild Card, where the Cubs still hold an eight-game cushion ahead of the San Francisco Giants.
INJURY UPDATES: The Cubs added closer Daniel Palencia to the 15-day IL yesterday after he exited Sunday’s loss in the ninth inning with a right shoulder strain. Expect Brad Keller to take over closing duties in the meantime.
As for Kyle Tucker, who hasn’t played since last Tuesday due to a calf strain, he could return to the lineup tonight.
STADIUM UPDATE: Yep, I’m sure this is what everybody wants to read about after last night’s game.
Bears CEO Kevin Warren released an open letter to fans on Monday afternoon outlining the team’s commitment and plan to move forward with their stadium relocation project in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Warren said: “We are at a pivotal juncture of the Chicago Bears franchise to build a new stadium, our future home in Arlington Heights, which will require zero state money for construction. This is the year to finalize our stadium plans so we can officially bid to host a Super Bowl as soon as 2031.” (FULL LETTER)
The Bears honored the 1985 Super Bowl Championship team at halftime.
Several players passed the Lombardi Trophy down the line as their names were called.
— #CHGO Bears (#@CHGO_Bears)
1:55 AM • Sep 9, 2025
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