With the Bears’ win over the Falcons putting Chicago back in a good spot in Week 6, it wasn’t quite as cheerful for a few old friends scattered around the league. Some of the familiar names who used to wear navy and orange had rough Sundays, and a couple of them ended up on the wrong end of Caleb Williams’ first meeting with their new team.
That matchup brought two former Bears defenders into the spotlight. Gervon Dexter Sr., now with Atlanta after Chicago traded him before the season, finally picked up his first sack and brought Williams down in the Falcons’ loss. Dexter tied his season high with four tackles and added two quarterback hits, even if the Bears still walked away with the win.
LaCale London joined him in making life uncomfortable for Chicago’s quarterback. The former Bears practice-squad defender, who spent most of his time in Chicago after arriving as an undrafted free agent in 2020, has turned into a real contributor in Atlanta.
In 2025, he has posted 5.0 sacks while playing 32 percent of defensive snaps, and against the Bears he too got to Williams. London also logged season highs with five total tackles and three solo tackles.
The Falcons had their own issues elsewhere, and Olamide Zaccheaus helped pile on. In the latest reminder that drops can ruin a drive in a hurry, Zaccheaus had a pair of them in key moments, including one that would have moved the chains on third down.
Instead, Atlanta had to punt. He also shut himself down on a route that should have produced at least 20 yards with a little more than a minute left in the first half and the Falcons trailing by 14.
Meanwhile, Khalil Mack’s latest outing did not match the kind of impact Bears fans got used to seeing from him. The Chargers are still winless after falling to the Chiefs, and Mack put up four total tackles, two defensive stops and a couple of quarterback pressures. He’s one of the trade candidates drawing attention as the deadline gets closer, and Chicago fans are openly hoping his next stop somehow circles back to the Windy City.
Keenan Allen had a better statistical day, even if the Colts’ result was ugly. Indianapolis lost to the Titans, dropped to 2-4 and fired general manager Chris Ballard, but Allen still produced with eight catches on 11 targets for 82 yards. He didn’t score, though, and that’s becoming a familiar storyline - he has just one touchdown this season.
D.J. Moore, on the other hand, was absent again.
The Bills beat the Raiders, but Moore sat out for a second straight game because of his AC joint injury, one he aggravated earlier in the season. With Buffalo viewed as a strong Super Bowl contender, the team is choosing caution and keeping him out until he’s fully healthy.
Bears fans know how tough Moore usually is, but this is the sensible call.
In Other News...
Bears Defense Could Catch A Huge Break Against New England
The Bears defense is already carrying plenty of momentum into Thursday night, and the matchup with New England could get even friendlier up front. The injury reports told part of the story Wednesday, with Chicago listing six players and the Patriots putting 17 names on theirs, and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged that the offensive line situation is heading in the wrong direction for his team.
New England may be leaning into the game with more questions than answers on the edges and across the middle, where the Bears can try to keep pressing their advantage. The Patriots also may not be at full strength at receiver, with A.J. Brown having recently returned from a high-ankle sprain but still looking limited, leaving one more layer of uncertainty in a short-week matchup Chicago will be eager to exploit. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams Leap Just Put Ben Johnson In A Tough Spot
Caleb Williams has spent the first part of 2026 looking far more settled in the Bears offense, and the improvement has shown up in the most basic number of all: completions. Through three starts, he leads the NFL with a 72.5% completion rate, and a recent outing featured a franchise-record 83.3% mark that underscored how quickly he is growing into the system.
For Ben Johnson and the coaching staff, the next question is less about whether Williams can handle more responsibility and more about how to manage the rest of the offense around him. Chicagos balance is being tested by injuries to key offensive pieces, which makes the coming plan harder to map out and leaves the Bears weighing how much to lean on Williams arm while the rest of the unit sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Blackwell Is Making A Bigger Bears Role Hard To Ignore
Josh Blackwell keeps finding ways to matter for the Bears, even when his role on defense is still limited. In the win over Atlanta, he made his presence felt in multiple phases, adding four tackles, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery while continuing to do the kind of work on special teams that has made him a steady part of the roster all season.
What stood out Sunday was how comfortable he looked when called on in coverage. Blackwell has already built a reputation as a dependable special teams piece, but his recent defensive showing only adds to the case that there may be more there for Chicago to tap into. For a Bears team always looking for reliable depth and weekly contributors, that kind of performance is hard to overlook. [Read more 🡒]