Caleb Williams went down as if a bolt of lightning had struck him in the back of his powerful right leg.
The earth shuddered. Spirits plummeted. Angels wept.
Throughout Beardom, men and women who haven’t sprinted since the Clinton administration leaned forward in their La-Z-Boys, shook their fists at their TV screens and cursed the football gods.
No Williams? No shot at a Bears season to remember.
But let’s not kid ourselves — even with Williams, the Bears were so preposterously terrible on offense in a 9-3 loss to the Vikings that many of the warm-and-fuzzy feelings after a season-opening 59-point eruption would’ve been long gone heading into Week 3.
Had backup Tyson Bagent completed a last-ditch touchdown drive for the win instead of seeing it peter out with a sack from the 12-yard line, we’d still be asking if this Bears team is capable of blocking a dynamic defensive front.
Even if Williams had dusted himself off and finished things after hurting his right hamstring midway through the fourth quarter, we’d still be wondering if it’s going to be another season of the same old inconsistent passing attack and the same old need for crazy comebacks all over again.
Instead, Williams’ availability going forward is to be determined — just typing those words is chilling — and the 1-1 Bears are already back in the business of losing division games.
Caleb Williams walked through the locker room carrying his duffle bag, seemed upbeat, said hello to people and said, “All good,” as he left.
I don’t interpret “all good” as no problem, just that he has a positive attitude.
Ben Johnson said they’ll know more Monday, meaning MRI.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) September 20, 2026
One week later, eight fewer touchdowns than they scored against the Panthers. In what world should that be possible?
“That’s the NFL, you know what I mean?” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “One week, you might score 59. The next week, you might score three. That’s how it goes.”
Yeah, that’s not supposed to be how it goes.
“Sometimes you’re in a rut, and sometimes you can’t be stopped,” he said. “We like to err on the side of can’t be stopped.”
Fans at Soldier Field like to err on the side of not getting rain dumped on them for three-plus hours, but they didn’t let a little imperfect late-summer weather stop them from doing their thing. Alas, a wickedly aggressive Vikings defense and — if you believe Bears coach Ben Johnson — the conditions conspired to turn an offense Johnson wants to be unstoppable into a frightened turtle.
“The weather was a major factor in this game,” Johnson said. “It was a big story of this game.”
Quick show of hands: Is anyone out there feeling particularly confident in the Bears’ chances to repeat atop the NFC North for the first time since 2005 and 2006?
Sure, they won the division a year ago despite a 2-4 record against the Vikings, Lions and Packers. But the Bears now are 9-28 in the division since 2019. They’re also 0-5 against Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell at Soldier Field.
That’s not how you “take the North,” especially when your franchise QB is rolling in the wet grass in agony.
MAKING THE GRADE
QUARTERBACK — C-MINUS
Williams went down inside the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, a gut punch on a drive that ended up producing — talk about salt in the wound — no points. Before that, Williams’ best moments were jukes and spin moves on desperate scrambles that didn’t really amount to anything important. It’s hard to dock him too much for an essentially nonexistent passing attack considering how little time he had to operate, but it’s not like he was overly sharp when he did get a pass off. Bagent came in and led a promising final drive but, when he needed it, had no magic up his sleeve.
OFFENSIVE LINE — F
From center Garrett Bradbury’s cavalcade of first-half penalties to a unit-wide inability to create running lanes or protect their QB, the Bears utterly failed this test up front. Had the game gone on any longer, there’s little doubt the Vikings would’ve stolen the Bears’ lunch money and stuffed them in a locker. This was a bitter pill to swallow and a big step back.
RUNNING BACKS — D
Kyle Monangai ran hard, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and D’Andre Swift had a beautiful 32-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter that looked like it might set up the Bears for a go-ahead touchdown. But Swift’s third-quarter fumble on first-and-goal from the 1 was a devastating mistake; as bad as the offense was, maybe the Bears are 2-0 if he hangs on to the ball there. The backs also had a rough day in pass protection.
WIDEOUTS AND TIGHT ENDS — F
Pass catchers? What pass catchers? Odunze couldn’t squeeze a third-down slant that would’ve moved the chains. Luther Burden didn’t show up until very late. The tight ends were no-shows, other than when it came to some glaring errors. Was there any type of mistake — penalties, missed blocks, a dropped potential touchdown pass — rookie Sam Roush didn’t make? (Hint: No, there was not.)
DEFENSE — B
You hold the other guys to nine points, you deserve an overall tip of the helmet even though the Bears gave up 100-plus on the ground to run-of-the-mill Aaron Jones and didn’t create any turnovers or make any truly big plays on that side of the ball. Lineman James Lynch was stout against the run, for whatever it’s worth. It’s not the “D’s” fault the Bears blew an opportunity to win a division game against far-past-his-prime QB Carson Wentz.
SPECIAL TEAMS — F
Getting a 23-yard field goal try blocked when the Bears absolutely had to have a three-spot was pathetic. Guess who got beat on the play by Isaiah Rodgers, who crashed around the end to block it? Yep, Roush.
COACHING — D
Johnson’s gutsiest decision was to go for it on fourth-and-one in the red zone in the fourth quarter, the Bears down 6-3, and they converted. On the whole, though, he got his lunch handed to him by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
TOMORROW’S HEADLINES
Williams’ MRI results are in: Look, just breathe into a paper bag until then if you have to.
Colston Loveland will — OK, might — be fine: Two games, one catch, three yards. He pretty much could’ve done that without leaving Idaho.
Good, better, best? The pressure is on Johnson now to make this thing work.
