Same old Bears once again? It certainly looks like it, as they have started the season 0-2 and have not looked good so far. With all the excitement surrounding new head coach Ben Johnson, it seems like the Bears have not improved much. It started with a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the Monday night season opener at home, a game in which they blew the lead in the 4th quarter. Then, they got crushed 52-21 by the Detroit Lions last Sunday as well. The Chicago Bears were expected to be a lot better this year because of new head coach Ben Johnson, but they honestly look worse than last year.
The Bears started their season at home on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings, and everyone was very excited to see how the team would play under new head coach Ben Johnson. The energy was alive, and it seemed like this season should be one of the best in a while. The Bears started the game very well, building up a 17-6 lead into the 4th quarter. Scoring included a Caleb Williams 9-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the game, which was the Bears’ first opening drive touchdown since Week 17 of the 2023 season, and also a 74-yard pick six by Nahshon Wright, who was filling in for the injured Jaylon Johnson.
However, that excitement was short-lived, as the Vikings scored 3 straight touchdown drives to take a 27-17 lead late in the 4th quarter. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy stole the show in his first-ever game after missing the 2024 season due to injury, as he had 2 passing touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown in less than 10 minutes. The Bears got a touchdown back on a 1-yard pass to Rome Odunze before the two-minute warning, but on the kickoff afterwards by Cairo Santos, he wasn’t able to kick it out of the endzone, which allowed the Vikings to return it and get the clock down under 2 minutes. This gave the Bears basically no time to tie the game with a field goal, and the final score was 27-24 Vikings. The Bears had blown the game, and this continues to be a problem for them.
It got even worse the next game, as they traveled to Detroit to play the Lions. Ben Johnson was the former offensive coordinator for the Lions, and this game was huge for both teams. Detroit was more ready than Chicago was, though, as they demolished the Bears 52-21 in embarrassing fashion. Both teams traded touchdown drives to start the game, but after that, the Lions ran away with it. This was the first time the Bears’ defense allowed more than 50 points in a game since 2014.
Jared Goff starred in this one, throwing for 334 passing yards and 5 passing touchdowns. 3 of those went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who also had 122 total yards. The best player for the Bears was Rome Odunze, who caught both of Caleb Williams’ 2 passing touchdowns. Their connection is continuing to grow, which is a bright spot for the team. However, the Bears just played awful football in this game, and fans are hopeless for the rest of the season already.
Chicago hopes to get their first win against the Dallas Cowboys on September 21st, which will be another huge game. It should be a good one, as the former head coach of the Bears, Matt Eberflus, returns to Soldier Field for the first time. Hopefully, the Bears can get things going soon, as right now it doesn’t look good at all.