The Bears walked out of Week 2 with more questions than answers, and the box score says plenty about why. After opening the season with one of the most explosive offensive showings the NFL has ever seen, Chicago came crashing back down in a 9-point loss that featured a sputtering attack, protection problems and a defense that couldn’t do enough to cover for it.
Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores earned his share of credit for the way his blitz-heavy approach disrupted Ben Johnson’s offense. But the Bears also had their own bright spots buried inside the mess, even if they were outnumbered by the problems.
One of the clearest positives was rookie corner Malik Muhammad, who has now turned in back-to-back encouraging games. The fourth-round pick looked comfortable both in the slot and on the outside, giving Chicago a needed answer in a battered secondary.
He also contributed in the blitz package, picked up his first career sack, and finished with three tackles, including one for loss, plus a quarterback hit. With Kyler Gordon eventually expected back, the Bears still need to keep Muhammad on the field.
Another rookie who made his presence felt was safety Dillon Thieneman. Dennis Allen’s defense had plenty to prove, and Thieneman helped it deliver by playing a role in limiting Minnesota to nine points and 246 total yards.
He tied for the team lead with seven tackles and added a pass breakup. His biggest moment came early, when he helped erase an easy Justin Jefferson touchdown on the opening drive.
He also showed up against the run.
Kalif Raymond was one of the few Bears who managed to stay productive no matter how ugly things got around him. After a strong Week 1, he followed it with another useful outing and finished tied for the team lead with five receptions. He also saw five targets and gained 40 yards, making it clear his role in Chicago is bigger than a side piece on offense or special teams work.
The list of losers was longer, and it starts up front with Braxton Jones. The offensive line as a unit had a rough day, but Jones stood out for the wrong reasons.
Chicago allowed four sacks, and Jones looked overmatched far too often while also drawing two head-scratching penalties. He’s still ahead of Theo Benedet for now, but that may not last long, especially with Ozzy Trapilo finally practicing without limitations this week.
Colston Loveland also had another quiet game. It’s still far too soon to panic, and he did contribute as a blocker, but the expected breakout has not shown up yet.
Loveland caught his first pass of the season, but his line was thin: one catch on three targets for three yards. Rookie tight end Sam Roush had some ugly drops, which at least keeps Loveland’s spot in the pecking order secure for now.
And then there was Caleb Williams, whose afternoon went sideways before the hamstring injury even entered the conversation. He never found a rhythm, threw an interception, and spent much of the game under siege.
Williams completed 15 of 26 passes for 138 yards and one pick, took three sacks, and looked like he was running for his life on nearly every dropback before Tyson Bagent took over. To make matters worse, he might have to miss Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In Other News...
Antonio Brown Crossed A Line With Caleb Williams And Fans Pounced
Caleb Williams hamstring injury already gave the Bears enough to manage, and then Antonio Brown turned the conversation in a far uglier direction. Brown posted a homophobic slur aimed at Williams on social media, pulling an injury update into the kind of online mess that tends to follow him and little else.
The reaction was swift, and Bears fans wasted no time pointing to Browns long history of provocative behavior and repeated run-ins with controversy. It was another reminder that, even from afar, Brown can still hijack an NFL discussion with something offensive, and in this case he managed to pile onto a young quarterback while Chicago was simply trying to get its footing. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Got Caught In Foxs Most Infuriating Broadcast Mess
FOX Sports had a rough afternoon in Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season, with an audio glitch that left viewers hearing the wrong commentary over multiple games. For fans trying to keep up with the action, the mix-up made an already busy Sunday feel even messier, and the problems only added to the sense that the broadcast never quite found its footing.
The network also briefly lost its scorebug during overtime of the Packers-Jets game, a particularly annoying touch for anyone following that finish closely. FOX did manage to clean up the audio issues before the primetime Cowboys-Commanders broadcast, where Tom Brady later delivered an unfiltered on-air comment, but by then the damage from the earlier mess had already been done. [Read more 🡒]
Antonio Brown Just Made Caleb Williams' Injury Even More Infuriating
Caleb Williams hamstring injury already left the Bears sorting through the practical fallout of losing their quarterback in the middle of a game, and the situation only grew uglier once Antonio Brown weighed in on social media. Brown posted a homophobic slur aimed at Williams after the injury, drawing immediate criticism from fans and adding an off-field distraction to a painful moment for Chicago.
For Bears supporters, the post landed with extra edge because Browns name has long been attached to controversy, not restraint. He has a history of inflammatory messages directed at NFL players, including earlier posts about Mack Hollins and Josh Allen, and this latest one again shifted attention away from Williams health and onto Browns recurring pattern of antagonism. [Read more 🡒]