The Bears got the result they wanted on Sunday night, but everything about the way they got there felt like it was hanging by a thread.
Chicago opened against Tampa Bay with a burst of energy, and for a stretch it looked like Caleb Williams and the offense might turn Sunday Night Football into a runaway. Instead, the game kept twisting back on itself, with penalties, turnovers and some head-scratching decisions dragging it into chaos. In the end, Cairo Santos’ leg finished the job and the Bears walked out at 7-2.
What should have been a comfortable night quickly turned into a mess, especially once the offense stopped humming and Ben Johnson kept leaning away from the run. The Bears started fast, and Williams looked electric on the first two drives.
Then the rhythm disappeared, and Johnson kept calling pass after pass even as things started to fall apart. For a coach who has generally stuck with the ground game this season, it was a jarring shift.
Williams still kept going back to Rome Odunze, even after the receiver’s rough night. In the first quarter, Odunze dropped a touchdown, then two plays later ran a clean route and caught a score from Williams anyway.
Later, Williams hit him with a throw that should have been an easy catch-and-run touchdown, only for Odunze to drop that one too. Whatever is happening there, Williams clearly isn’t pulling away from his guy.
But Williams also had one of those nights where the mistakes piled up fast. After looking sharp early, he slid into the kind of hero-ball stretch that can wreck a game.
He threw interceptions on back-to-back downs in the second quarter, first to Tykee Smith at the goal line, then to Zyon McCollum on the next drive after Tampa Bay had already been stopped on fourth down. Before halftime, after a Cam Lewis interception gave Chicago the ball back, Williams threw another pick on the very next play.
In the second half, a tipped pass became interception No. 4.
The Bears also made a noticeable change in the backfield. Salvon Ahmed, elevated from the practice squad, got work early, while Roschon Johnson never saw the field on offense and finished with zero snaps. That’s a pretty loud message.
On the other side of the ball, Devin Bush kept stacking good snaps. He had one of those games where he was simply around the action all night, finishing with nine tackles, three solo, two passes broken up and a tackle for loss.
Austin Booker was just as active, and maybe even more disruptive. He picked up his fifth sack of the season, a new career-high, and ended with four tackles, two quarterback hits, a sack and a tackle for loss.
Booker did draw a bad facemask penalty late in the fourth quarter, but his impact was obvious throughout the night.
Even with the win, the ball security issues are impossible to ignore. D’Andre Swift nearly put the Bears in real trouble on a fourth-quarter drive with Chicago up by eight, though replay saved him when he was ruled down.
If that had stood, it would have been the Bears’ eighth lost fumble of the season, which would have doubled last year’s total with half the season still left. Then, with under four minutes remaining, Luther Burden fumbled and handed Tampa Bay the ball in the red zone.
That’s where this game landed: ugly, messy and far removed from the dominant talk surrounding Chicago after its win over Seattle. The Bears turned it over five times and still survived. That counts as a win, but it’s the kind they’ll want to leave behind when the bye week gives them time to clean things up.
In Other News...
Bears Deadline Buzz Could Undermine Ryan Poles Biggest Roster Progress
Ryan Poles has already made his biggest roster statement of the season by landing Jeffery Simmons from Tennessee, a move that immediately changed the look of Chicagos defensive front. Giving up two first-round picks was a steep price, but it also signaled that the Bears are trying to build something more substantial than a quick fix, especially with Simmons giving the line a centerpiece it has lacked.
That is why the deadline chatter matters so much now. Chicago still has clear needs, but the wrong kind of trade could chip away at the progress Poles just made, whether it is chasing a left tackle, forcing a deal for an edge rusher, or getting pulled into a move for Nahshon Wright. The Bears have enough roster holes without creating new ones, and the next decision could say as much about the plan as the Simmons trade did. [Read more 🡒]
Kyler Gordon Injury Raises A Bears Concern At The Worst Time
Kyler Gordons injury landed at a bad time for the Bears, who were already trying to steady their defense in a Week 9 matchup against the Buccaneers. The slot cornerback was hurt during the game and later was seen walking off the field after receiving medical attention, a worrying sight for a team that relies on him to help anchor the middle of the secondary.
The concern only deepened when Tyrique Stevenson also left with a hand injury, leaving Chicago with limited cornerback depth in a spot where there is little margin for error. For a defense that has leaned on its backfield to hold up against opposing passing games, the Bears suddenly have a situation that could test their depth and flexibility in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Luther Burden Injury Suddenly Puts Bears Passing Game In Question
Luther Burden III had become a central part of the Bears passing game by the time Chicago got deep into its Week 9 matchup with the Buccaneers, and his production was already shaping how the offense was operating. The rookie wideout was making plays before a hit on a screen pass changed the tone of the afternoon, with the Bears suddenly forced to adjust without one of their most dynamic targets.
Burden was helped off the field and taken to be examined by medical staff after the play, leaving Chicago to sort out what his absence means for a passing attack that had been leaning on him. He had seven receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown before exiting, and the way the Bears moved the ball after that moment only underscored how much his presence had mattered. [Read more 🡒]