The Bears move to 2-2 and head into the bye week with vibes sky-high. Here are my Week 4 winners and losers.

Winners

Tyrique Stevenson

He’s playing the best football of his career over the last two weeks, and yesterday was no different. That diving interception? Beautiful.

Cairo Santos

4-for-4 on field goals, including a 50+ yarder. Santos isn’t the biggest leg in the league, but he’s accurate—and yesterday proved why the Bears trust him.

Tory Taylor

Pinning the Raiders on their own 2-yard line late in the game set up a three-and-out and gave Chicago prime field position for a TD. Taylor is playing at a high level.

Rome Odunze

Five TDs in four games. The rise of Rome is fun to watch.

Caleb Williams

Maybe the stats weren’t last week’s numbers, but Williams showed he’s a winner. He delivered when Chicago needed him most.

Ozzy Trapilo

26 pass-blocking reps. 0 sacks allowed. 0 QB hits allowed. Not bad at all for coming in during the 2nd quarter against Maxx Crosby.

Josh Blackwell

The special teams hero. Bears likely don’t win this one without him. That block might have saved the season.

Losers

Braxton Jones

Benched with about 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter—not due to injury, just poor play. Hard to see him starting again unless injuries force it. Not ideal in a contract year, but necessary.

Montez Sweat

I just expect more. The Bears paid him big, and while he doesn’t have to look like Maxx Crosby, did those two even look like they were playing the same sport? More disruption and production needed.

D’Andre Swift

He makes plays, but you want more from your RB1. Not sure the Bears will stand pat if a trade option pops up.

Cole Kmet

Maybe his worst game yet—too many drops, false starts, and an illegal motion. He needs to be better.

It was such a familiar setting. The Chicago Bears trailed late in the 4th quarter. They needed a touchdown to take the lead. Even if they did, the odds were they’d have to hold it somehow. The movie was one that fans had watched play out many times last year alone. Every time, the Bears crumbled when it mattered most. Ben Johnson was brought in to change that. It wouldn’t be easy. This locker room was still mentally beaten up from what happened last year. His first goal was instilling an air of mental toughness.

This started all the way back in June. Johnson understood that good teams are defined by how they respond in crisis situations.

“And two, with the mental toughness, something we’ve been preaching to our guys about is ‘How do we respond to adversity? How do we manage our emotions, maintain our focus and bounce back from setbacks?’ which is really the story of any season in the NFL.”

Sure enough, one of those moments arrived on Sunday. The Bears drove down the field with five minutes left and scored the go-ahead touchdown. Then things seemed to go wrong yet again.

They missed the two-point conversion, meaning a field goal for Las Vegas would likely win the game. Then they gave up a big return on the kickoff. It was over. They were going to wilt again. Then it happened. They got a stop with some time left and still had two timeouts. It wouldn’t matter, though. Josh Blackwell blocked the ensuing field goal attempt. Johnson summed up the moment after the game.

“It’s easy to get frustrated, but we don’t panic. That’s not who we are, that’s not what we do.”

What Ben Johnson did these past two weeks can’t be understated.

The Bears were left for dead in Detroit after getting walloped 52-21. It would’ve been so easy to call it a season at that point. Everyone else was. Ben Johnson had no intention of doing that. He intensified practices that week to remind guys what they would need to do if they wanted to win. The Bears responded with a 31-14 thumping of Dallas. Going into Sunday, they knew the Raiders presented a challenge. It was a well-coached team with some outstanding players. They’d need a full 60 minutes to pull it out.

As has become tradition whenever these two franchises meet, it was tough, physical, and sloppy. The Bears couldn’t run the ball at all or stop the run. Geno Smith threw three interceptions. It would come down to who made the last mistake. Johnson made sure it was the Raiders, and the players followed his lead. These are the kinds of games that inspire belief. The Bears didn’t play their best, but they found a way. That is what winners do.

The Bears just pulled off a massive road win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Here are my biggest takeaways.

Caleb Williams is nothing like the media said he was

Williams is a leader. Tough as nails. The ultimate teammate. Winning means everything to him, and Chicago absolutely has the right guy. The way he battled and delivered when his team needed him most—that’s exactly what you want from your young franchise QB.

Ben Johnson is a little crazy—in the best way

Say what you want, but Johnson is all business, all the time. His halftime interview where he basically brushed everything off and said the Bears would be fine sparked the team. More importantly, his ability to lead this group and win on the road—something Matt Eberflus could never do—felt like a culture-shifting moment.

The Bears defense is awesome

Not much more to add. They’re undermanned, banged up, and still making plays that give this team a chance. Huge credit to every player and to Dennis Allen for keeping it rolling.

Tyrique Stevenson is stepping up big time

Over the last two weeks: 12 targets, 3 receptions allowed, just 6 yards, plus an interception, a forced fumble, and a recovery. With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon sidelined, Stevenson has answered the call in a major way.

Rome Odunze is elite

5 touchdowns in 4 games. Not much more to add. Rome’s ascension continues.

The Bears need running back help

No idea what trade is out there, but they need a spark in the backfield.

The young offensive tackles held their own

It wasn’t perfect, but Ozzy Trapilo and Theo Benedet were thrown into the fire and didn’t flinch. Maxx Crosby was unbelievable yesterday, but those two weathered the storm while Braxton Jones sat on the bench.

Cairo Santos was nails

He doesn’t have the biggest leg, but going 4-for-4 and sealing the win was huge.

Josh Blackwell deserves all the praise

He’s underrated, he’s reliable, and he’s shining in his role. The Bears are lucky to have him.

The Bears are still right in the division race

Even with two divisional losses, they sit at 2-2 (really should be 3-1). The Lions are the only team with three wins, while the rest of the NFC North is stuck at two.

The Chicago Bears had been playing from behind for most of the game. They trailed 14-6 at one point in the first half. Then, with five minutes left, they were down 24-19. Only a touchdown would bring them a chance at victory. They needed this game. A loss would send them to 1-3 with almost zero hopes of making the playoffs. Caleb Williams had gotten no help from the run game all day. It would be on his shoulders. One can only imagine what was going through his head at the time. Head coach Ben Johnson knew that, so he took his quarterback aside and shared some words with him before the drive began.

Williams revealed what was said. The words were few, but the message they conveyed gave him all the confidence necessary to make something happen.

Those words did the trick. The Bears marched 69 yards in 11 plays, capped by a D’Andre Swift touchdown. Williams accounted for 60 of those yards through the air or with his legs. It was a gutty drive by a quarterback many keep saying isn’t cut out for the NFL. Stealing a game on the road with a 4th quarter comeback isn’t something bad QBs do. Williams took it from them, and Johnson was the guiding hand.

Ben Johnson is succeeding where many Bears coaches failed.

He is instilling an air of confidence in his young quarterback. While the head coach is tough on Williams in practice, he makes sure to pump him up when things get tough, like your classic boxing hype man. Ben Johnson knew his responsibility when the time came. Williams didn’t need a lecture. He needed a reminder of the type of great player he can be. Players feel like they can walk on air, hearing those things. This should remind people that Johnson is a smart coach.

He may put on the persona of a hardass who is obsessed with details and never smiles. In reality, he understands the psychology that goes into his job. He must gauge how his players feel in given moments and adjust to use different motivational tools to help them. This is one example of that.

The Chicago Bears won in convincing fashion last week against the Dallas Cowboys. That didn’t mean everything was fixed. It was still apparent the team had problems, particularly with the running game. Still, there wasn’t much time to complain about it. They had a big road game in Las Vegas against a desperate Raiders team. A win would send them into the bye week 2-2 and with some momentum. A loss would basically spell the end of their season. They needed to make something happen, and Caleb Williams had to be the one to lead the way.

Per usual between these two teams, it was a tough, physical, and sloppy affair. Both made mistakes and big plays in equal measure. However, the Raiders had the lead 24-19 with five minutes left. Williams needed a touchdown drive. What followed was confirmation of something that had been building since last season. In an 11-play march, the quarterback made almost every meaningful play to get the Bears in the end zone.

Of the 69 yards covered, Williams was responsible for 60 of them via passes or scrambles. Chicago would go on to block Las Vegas’ game-winning field goal attempt to escape.

Caleb Williams might be clutch.

That is not something critics and doubters are prepared to handle. Yet the evidence is piling up. He had two 4th quarter comebacks last season against the Rams and Packers. He should’ve had two more against Washington and Green Bay. Unfortunately, those were undone by the Hail Mary and a blocked field goal. Going into this game, Caleb Williams had a 96.1 passer rating in the 4th quarter, which is the best of any of the four quarters. He always seems to bring his best in crunch time.

This is an unfamiliar feeling for Bears fans. They’ve been used to watching their quarterbacks crumble or come up short in those situations. Justin Fields was particularly notorious for it. People keep talking about Williams being mentally soft. Las Vegas was merely the latest evidence of the complete opposite. Chicago has a gamer under center, and he’s getting better every week.

Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears saved their season last Sunday afternoon… for the time being. Limping after an 0-2 start — including disastrous divisional losses to Minnesota and Detroit — the Bears played strong offense and got some timely stops and takeaways to rout the Dallas Cowboys to get to 1-2. Johnson’s first victory as head coach was fitting: an offensive masterclass where Williams broke out for arguably the best game of his young career.

The Bears rode their wave of good feelings into today’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Chicago would need yet another great coaching performance, given they were without Darnell Wright, Grady Jarrett, and Colston Loveland today, already on top of Jaylon Johnson and T.J. Edwards.

Win, and get to their early bye week 2-2 and very much alive. Lose… and go into the bye REELING with a much-anticipated primetime rematch against Jayden Daniels and Washington looming in two weeks. Talk about a pivotal game.

The Bears desperately tried to give the game away again and again and again… and eventually pulled it back just in the nick of time. A last-minute drive by Caleb Williams to put the Bears in front and a Josh Blackwell field goal block sealed an unbelievable road win to get to 2-2.

I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the game below. Follow me on X @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.

Thoughts and Observations

1. (PREGAME) — The Bears’ roster is somewhat of a MASH unit right now. The early bye week usually isn’t great. But for this team, it might be coming at the perfect time…

Theo Benedet starting in place of Darnell Wright … the Bears better have a big schematic plan for Maxx Crosby.

2. Well, this game is starting a bit like the last game. The Bears got the ball first and promptly went three-and-out. Caleb Williams did a nice job finding his outlet after Thomas Booker blew up Drew Dalman on third down. But D’Andre Swift gator-armed the pass and it was a drop…a clean catch probably converts.

The defense stopped a driving Raiders offense with an INT — a really nice read and drive by Kevin Byard on a Geno Smith pass and he returned it to the Raiders’ 24. Montez Sweat with a really nice pressure to force the throw slightly early.

And the Bears did convert the turnover into points! But they went backwards, thanks to… you guessed it: Maxx Crosby. Simply dominated that drive with a TFL and two tipped passes. 3-0 Bears after the Cairo Santos FG.

3. Seriously, Crosby is unbelievable. First, Andrew Billings with two unreal plays to blow up the LOS and to help the Bears stuff the Raiders on back to back “& 1” plays — including a forced fumble on 4th down by Ashton Jeanty to set the Bears up near the red zone.

But then, Crosby took over again and tipped a ball to himself to intercept it and turn away Chicago. The Bears’ defense starts the game forcing two turnovers and get just three points out of it. Those are the things that will hurt them later.

…

And just like that, the Raiders have the lead as Ashton Jeanty scored on a flare route at the end of the first quarter. Geno Smith hurt them with his legs twice going down the field.

4. This running game is unlike one I have ever seen … in a bad way. The blocking is getting completely cooked by Vegas’ front, and D’Andre Swift isn’t helping matters with his inability to break tackles. Caleb Williams has already taken multiple sacks because the pass-blocking is also struggling. And as a result, the Bears have turned three takeaways into… six total points.

Raiders lead 7-6 with 4.5 minutes left and Vegas gets the ball after halftime.

A fairly demoralizing first half on offense for Chicago. I did not expect this.

5. Cole Kmet had the game’s biggest play up until that moment — a brutal drop that would’ve set up 1st and Goal on a drive the Bears ended up punting on.

And then Ashton Jeanty took the first snap from scrimmage after the Bears closed it to 7-6 and motored 64 yards to the house. Again — the run defense being this bad and the rushing offense being this bad? Unbelievable.

14-6 Raiders in a game where the Bears are +2 in the turnover margin right now… though I would say having to punt on the Kmet Drop drive is pretty much a turnover as well.

Awful. The Bears are staring 1-3 and a long, long bye week in the face, with the way they’re playing right now.

6. A decent response just before halftime to pull to 14-9. Caleb Williams converted a couple third downs to put the Bears in range, but another awful drop near the sideline by Kmet and a bad high throw to Rome Odunze (where DJ Moore appeared to be streaking open?) led to missed opportunities.

As badly as the Bears have played on offense… being down five is OK? But the defense needs to stand tall coming out of halftime.

<HALFTIME>

7. Tyrique Stevenson‘s 2025 season turnaround continues. He has a PBU, a fumble recovery and now a beautifully executed trail technique INT to open the second half. A diving effort, very similar to Byard’s second INT. He has really stepped up in Jaylon Johnson’s absence. This defense needed it.

8. The offense REALLY tried to come away empty on yet another turnover from the Raiders, but Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze wouldn’t let them. Williams found DJ Moore and Odunze to convert after a facemask on D’Andre Swift. And then a false start on Swift later in the drive set up a 3rd and 12.

Caleb then read a flat-footed safety and fired a missile to Odunze coming open on a post to put the Bears up with their first touchdown of the game. Just players making plays in big moments. 16-14, Bears.

9. The disparity in running backs is on full display at Allegiant Stadium. Ashton Jeanty walked the Bears right down the field — with the Bears’ DL putting absolutely zero resistance. For a unit that has so much money and draft capital invested in it… that’s just not an acceptable response. A bruising drive that drained much of the third quarter. 21-16, Raiders.

10. Cole Kmet is playing his way into a reduced role based on today’s performance. Multiple drops. A bad false start on a 4th and 1. Just horrendous football from the highly paid local kid. The Bears need winning football players and … this is losing football.

Not to be outdone — Drew Dalman with a horrific and early snap in the red zone led to a loss of 18 and another FG attempt instead of an attempt at a touchdown. So, so many mistakes today.

11. The run defense is truly historically bad. The Raiders are up over 230 yards of rushing midway through the fourth quarter and doing so with ease. Jeanty is making his Pro Bowl case with today’s performance. I’d say they miss Edwards, but the DL is just not professional right now.

12. An unbelievable drive by Caleb Williams put the Bears up with 1:35 to go. Conversion after conversion in key situations gave the Bears the lead late. The two-point try didn’t work, so the Raiders will have plenty of time to try to win it with a field goal.

But that’s a huge drive in the arc of Williams’ season.

13. The most insane ending. The most INSANE ending. After a horrific special teams play put the Raiders on their own 40+ yard line, the defense let them crawl into field goal range.

But a key stop by Byard on Ashton Jeanty on third down forced a field goal attempt that JOSH BLACKWELL BLOCKED! Unbelievable game, unbelievable ending for a Bears team that found a way to survive. Speechless. Truly speechless after watching a rollercoaster second half.

14. The Bears are 2-2. They did it. And now, that aforementioned painful bye week is upon us — in good spirits! The next time the Bears take the field will be on Monday Night Football in a rematch of the loss that spiraled their season in 2024. Can this team get healthy and continue their turnaround?

Enjoy the bye week and some “stress free” football for the next couple weeks!

The 2026 draft is months away. Nobody is making assumptions about how it will unfold for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that teams don’t yet know who will or won’t be declaring for the NFL. However, sometimes, it is possible to recognize what certain organizations will likely do even as early as now. That seems to be the case with the Chicago Bears. A source reached out to SM with some interesting info from scouting circles. While things can obviously change in the next few months, there is a belief among other teams that the Bears brass will do one of two things next April.

One possibility is they will grab the best pass rusher available. Chicago’s ability to pressure the quarterback has been hot and cold for over a year now. Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo haven’t emerged as a prolific tandem as yet. The depth is also a major concern. They need more explosiveness up front. This 2026 class is shaping up to be a strong one for edge rushers.

The other option people are convinced will happen is the Bears will take Jeremiyah Love. Most consider him the best running back in the class, and it’s no secret that head coach Ben Johnson wants more from the running game.

The Chicago Bears would be forgiven for this approach.

Some will argue that the team must focus on finding a new left tackle. That is a fair assessment, given Braxton Jones‘ ongoing consistency issues. The problem is that this incoming class doesn’t seem overly strong on natural left tackles. That would mean, unless the Chicago Bears are picking in the top 10 again, the odds aren’t great they’ll land one. Pass rushers and running backs are easier to find in the later stages of the 1st round. Some see Love as a possible top-10 guy. He has the size, speed, vision, and instincts to be a true workhorse in the NFL. There is no question he’d be a natural fit in Johnson’s system.

Meanwhile, six edge rush prospects are currently ranked as 1st round possibilities. That number could go up once the pre-draft process begins in February. It appears people inside the league can already sense where the Bears are leaning. If it plays out this way, fans should be happy with it. Either option feels like a good one.