Optimism was high going into this season. Then again, it’s always high in the summer. Chicago Bears fans were thrilled to see Matt Eberflus get fired last year. Many felt it had to happen sooner. It was even better when Ben Johnson was hired as the replacement. This would give people an honest view of what this team is truly capable of. Two weeks into the season, it has become apparent that the coaching wasn’t the only problem with the Bears, as much as people wanted to believe it.

This roster still has considerable problems, mentally and physically.

It all starts up front, particularly on defense. The pass rush struggled to harass Jared Goff all afternoon, confirming what many were concerned about going into the season. This defensive front isn’t talented enough. The same goes for the offensive line. Darnell Wright is definitely a good player. So is Joe Thuney. Unfortunately, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalmn have struggled to start the year. Braxton Jones still hasn’t looked like himself prior to the injury last season.

Controlling the line of scrimmage remains at the core of their ongoing woes.

The Chicago Bears have some tough decisions ahead.

Johnson and his staff are trying to make things work with a roster they didn’t have much of a hand in building. Most of the players are carryovers from the Eberflus era. If the season plays out like it’s started, it is possible that some major changes could be coming next spring. Johnson will want to bring in guys he feels give them a better chance to win. Who that could be is hard to gauge at the moment. Montez Sweat, Tremaine Edmunds, Cole Kmet, and D’Andre Swift will have hefty contracts the team can unload via trade or release. That would free up $37 million in cap space.

Free agency alone won’t solve the problem. The Chicago Bears must start stacking good drafts. This latest one was the first of the Johnson era. They will have to find a serious difference-maker for the trenches next April if they want to start shifting the direction of this team. Right now, each of their rivals in the division has considerable advantages in that area.

DETROIT — In a perfect world, Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit for his early-season Revenge Game would’ve come off of a primetime win, at home, against Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter to hometown kid J.J. McCarthy en route to starting 0-1.

Caleb Williams didn’t have a great game. The offense was disjointed. And special teams were a disaster. Not how the Bears wanted Johnson’s much anticipated debut to go.

Alas, Week 2. Both the Bears and Detroit Lions came off of Week 1 duds. With a feisty division shaping up, neither team could afford to fall to 0-2. The Lions were in a bit of an identity crisis coming in, losing Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs, and putting up a clunker in Green Bay last week. Desperation at its finest.

The winner of this game would save their season; the loser would undoubtedly face extremely tough questions this week. And the Bears saw a second straight week of poor discipline and disgusting defense in key situations lead to a blowout loss. Detroit fans, congratulations. You won Round 1. Bears fans are gonna have a long week listening to sports radio.

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) — Look, I know the Bears invested heavily in the trenches this offseason and have more depth than ever before. That said, it’s pretty bad to see two of your 2025 second-round picks be healthy inactives in Week 2. And your third-round OT from last year also an inactive. Ryan Poles has been given a lot of grace for falling backwards into Caleb Williams (though the reported narrow-mindedness of this evaluation is on many folks’ minds) and somehow getting Ben Johnson to choose Chicago. Other than that, he’s had a very rough track record to this point, and it’s fair to start asking some tough questions about his capabilities. This is bad look.

2. About as bad of a start as you could imagine for the Bears. Cairo Santos kicked off out of bounds (would’ve been nice last week). And in five plays, the Lions went 60 yards for a touchdown. The big play was a 34-yard first play pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown where Tyrique Stevenson was totally cooked in coverage. Another play action pass and then three straight EASY Jahmyr Gibbs runs scored the touchdown. Bears’ front did nothing on the drive, and looked out of position.

If the Lions were discombobulated last week, they were totally in control to start today. Bears absolutely need to respond with some points.

ANDDDD points they get! A terrific response by the Bears going 74 yards for a touchdown, with Caleb Williams converting a couple of big third downs to Olamide Zacchaeus and Rome Odunze (for the TD). D’Andre Swift also had some nice runs to get things going earlier in the drive. The script worked well. Now we need to see them build.

(Also, Ford Field was DEAFENING.)

3. The Bears are still a mess at the moment. Tory Taylor outkicks his coverage and lets up a net punt of 32 yards when he needed to flip the field from the Bears’ 16. Lions started at midfield. For a punter with a good leg, he just does not have the hangtime needed to lead to effective punt coverage. It’s rough.

And then the secondary… rough drive for Tyrique Stevenson again. He continues to have good talent but can’t seem to get out of his own way. It’s 14-7 Lions with 2:33 left in the first quarter. I expected much better from the defense.

Bears are gonna need Caleb and the offense to do their part today.

4. It ain’t looking great five minutes into the second quarter. This Bears team continues to make killer mistakes (Swift fumble, crazy penalties setting the offense back, you name it). It’s dreadful. And Caleb had a horrific interception after a gift miss from the Lions’ kicker (admittedly on 2nd and 32). Ben Johnson’s team isn’t playing with the discipline we hoped for early in the season.

Granted, this was going to be a long cleanup job. But I have a lot of concerns that many of the players the Bears wanted to play key roles are just have dysfunction deeply rooted in their DNA at this point.

Also, the trenches just aren’t doing enough. The OL has a ton of penalties but otherwise has looked OK-ish. The DL has been getting blown up. For a unit (Lions’ OL) that looked bad last week against what is clearly an incredible Packers DL, this is not a good trend. They need more from a set of trenches that they’ve invested a lot of money and draft resources in.

The good news is, Rome Odunze is looking like the star we were promised. He had a terrific first half, going for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

5. We are going to need to have a conversation about this defense. Jaylon Johnson left the game again with a groin injury, but they have been cooked all game. Letting the Lions drive so easily down the field before halftime to take back a two-score lead was disgusting football.

And yes, the Bears got screwed by a horrendous call. And it really feels like the refs have just completely screwed the Bears today. But the defense basically let it happen. They don’t deserve a pass, but that is the kind of game-changing stuff that’s happened twice now in two weeks to Chicago. Unprofessional.

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6. A three and out to start the second half (after a first down false start) and then a 64-yard play from scrimmage for the Lions.

They’re playing different sports.

7. I’m gonna put this here. Not sure there’s much more to glean watching this game after the Lions made it 31-14.

8. Well, after Ben Johnson got his “Revenge Game” out of the way…for whatever that’s worth, Matt Eberflus gets his when he returns to Soldier Field next Sunday as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. This team just doesn’t look good enough to compete right now. It’s scary. And I’m afraid it’ll be over by SEPTEMBER this time.

Early prediction: Cowboys 26, Bears 20.

If we’ve learned anything as Chicago Bears fans over the last quarter-century, it is that change doesn’t always lead to better things. Ted Phillips was a constant with the organization for 23 years as team president. In that time, the Bears only had six playoff trips. He wasn’t solely responsible for that, but his name was tied to every major decision at the top of the organization, specifically the hiring of every GM and head coach. So when news dropped that Phillips was retiring, it was met with relief. Maybe the Bears would get somebody better. Enter Kevin Warren.

At first glance, it seemed like a strong choice. He’d served in NFL front offices for two decades and spent the past few years running the Big Ten conference. His football experience felt like a breath of fresh air compared to Phillips. In some ways, that has proven true. Warren has modernized how the Bears operate in some way, particularly by spending money on necessary improvements. However, according to Tyler Dunne of Go Long, some inside Halas Hall have begun questioning his business acumen.

Most of it centers on his decisions regarding the new stadium.

Even after Ted Phillips, the previous president, purchased 326 acres in Arlington Heights at the price of $197.2 million, his replacement (Warren) pivoted to the city upon arrival. The 180-degree turn perplexed many on the business side considering Phillips obviously explored a city stadium himself and got nowhere in Chicago’s gridlocked politics. Warren partnered with mayor Brandon Johnson, pissed off governor JB Pritzker and eventually realized that building a stadium on the city’s lakefront is unrealistic…

…“He’s trying to wordsmith his way out of guaranteeing that there would be shovels in the ground,” one ex-Bears exec says. Warren’s stint with the Minnesota Vikings coincided with the arrival of their U.S. Bank Stadium palace. Several on the Bears’ business side are starting to wonder how instrumental he was with this project.

Kevin Warren needs a win in the worst way.

His decision to delay the Arlington Heights push in favor of trying to stay downtown always felt pointless. Illinois politics is notorious for being unforgiving. Kevin Warren didn’t approach things the right way. He seemed to assume Governor Pritzker would be eager to work with him on getting something done. That was a horrid miscalculation. The president clearly hadn’t done his homework on the type of man he was dealing with. By the time Warren realized his mistake, it was too late.

Now he’s scrambling to get the Arlington plans back on track. However, the fall veto session no longer looks like it will provide the legislation needed to begin construction. That means the Bears must wait until the government reconvenes in the spring. Warren better hope he finally gets the result he’s looking for. If he doesn’t, the public will start questioning what purpose he actually serves.

Matt Eberflus was a confusing choice for head coach in 2022. Nobody could argue his success as a defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. His efforts helped them make the playoffs twice. However, he never popped up much on lists of future head coaches to watch. While that isn’t always a red flag, it felt notable. Still, GM Ryan Poles felt he embodied many of the same traits that made Lovie Smith successful in the 2000s. Of course, Eberflus wouldn’t be inheriting the loaded roster Smith enjoyed.

Fans and media started doubting Eberflus midway through 2023. Things about him just never felt right. His press conferences were bland, and nothing about the guy felt authentic. He hid behind a series of carefully selected phrases, headlined by his infamous H.I.T.S philosophy. As it turns out, players realized it long before the fans did. Tyler Dunne of Go Long got in touch with people who experienced Eberflus. They didn’t just know early; they knew from when he opened his mouth in the first speech.

It was that obvious.

One source vividly remembers the coach’s first address to the team. It was somewhere between awkward and embarrassing. “Holy shit,” he says. “It was bad.” Mainly, “Flus” was too goofy for modern players, overloading them with nicknames and acronyms. Players grew tired of his “Spidey” and “Mako Shark” and “Sandman” routine. “High school shit,” says one source. “Quite frankly, I’d get more inspired by a high school coach. That’s who they hired to lead the Chicago Bears.” Another personnel man we spoke to worked for a club that interviewed Eberflus for their head-coaching vacancy in 2019. Part of him wants to cut the Colts DC slack because he was in the midst of a playoff run. But it was memorably bad. “A lot of superficialities, slogans and shit like that,” he says. “You can be a good coach and be a little full of shit, but you’ve got to have substance behind it.”

Matt Eberflus fell into a familiar category.

Plenty of head coaches can have a good plan. They understand what must be done to build a team the right way. However, too many of them lack a fundamental trait critical for the job: charisma. They say the best head coaches command attention when they stand in front of the room. Say what you will about Mike Ditka. Nobody ever confused him for lacking personality. He could never command a player’s attention. Matt Eberflus never came across that way. He’d say a bunch of words, but never had the right way to convey their importance. He treated players like uneducated kids rather than grown men. You can get away with that if you win. Eberflus never came close to that, and inevitably, the players rebelled. It is honestly shocking the blowup took almost three years to manifest.

The Chicago Bears had high hopes for their defense going into training camp. Their talent roster was strong at every level and a new defensive coordinator was in charge. Dennis Allen had a solid reputation going back years. He’d bring plenty of creativity and aggressiveness to the table. However, it still fell to the players to lead the way. Nobody was more important to the mission than Jaylon Johnson. He is Chicago’s best player and the linchpin to the type of man defense Allen wants to run.

So it was an unfortunate surprise when the cornerback didn’t show up for the start of training camp. It was revealed he was nursing an injury that happened while training. One day turned into a week, and a week became a month. No news came out about Johnson. People didn’t know why he was out or when he’d return. It wasn’t until the regular season neared that he finally returned to practice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in time to suit up for the opener against Minnesota. We finally know why it took so long.

Johnson revealed on The Pivot podcast that he didn’t suffer a normal groin injury. He’d torn his abductor muscle off the pelvic bone.

Jaylon Johnson should probably be out longer.

Under normal circumstances, an abductor tear of that nature takes six weeks to heal and requires wearing a brace to protect the repair afterward. The fact that Jaylon Johnson plans to play this Sunday in Detroit tells you he either has unusual healing ability or uncanny toughness. Either way, anybody who has suffered a groin injury of any kind should know it’s painful. Tearing the abductor is on another level entirely. It is hard to tell if Johnson is 100%. We will find out on Sunday when he tries corralling Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown. It is great to have him back. Knowing what he went through to reach this point should make people more appreciative of his commitment to the team.

The Chicago Bears don’t know who they will take in the 2026 draft yet. They don’t know when they’ll be picking, for one. For another, it isn’t clear who will declare and who will return to school. Until that happens, they must operate on who they think could be available next spring. Scouts for the team were spotted on hand for the big tilt between Notre Dame and Texas A&M. This came after others were noticed in attendance for an ACC showdown of Wake Forest and N.C. State. Obviously, all of those programs have plenty of draft prospects to evaluate.

However, there was a common theme between them.

Each team features a notable running back prospect. Demond Claiborne had 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns for Wake Forest last season. Hollywood Smothers of N.C. State has 380 yards and three touchdowns in three games already this year. Le’Veon Moss of Texas A&M had 765 yards and ten touchdowns in just nine games last season. Lastly is Jeremiyah Love, arguably the best running back in college football, who carried the Irish last year to the national title game with over 1300 total yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Chicago Bears’ focus on running backs is not a surprise.

D’Andre Swift averaged under 4.0 yards last season and opened up this one at 3.1 against Minnesota. He never felt like a fit for the type of offense Ben Johnson runs. The Chicago Bears didn’t have a clear replacement on hand. They would’ve probably drafted one last April, but the board didn’t cooperate. Johnson and GM Ryan Poles seem determined to know which prospects to target going into next year. Running the ball is central to this offense. The past three years in Detroit proved that. Could it be as early as the 1st round? Most believe Love will go that early. He’d be an outstanding fit. If not, Moss, Claiborne, and Smothers could all be quality additions in the later rounds, depending on how they finish this season.

The Chicago Bears didn’t utilize Luther Burden much on Monday night aside from spot duty as a decoy. It wasn’t surprising. Head coach Ben Johnson seems intent on limiting the snaps for his rookies until they show they are prepared for the opportunity. Burden played really well in the preseason. He showcased his dangerous mix of strength, speed, and route-running skills. However, he’d missed considerable time early in training camp with an injury. So his progress in the offense probably isn’t where it needs to be yet.

That hasn’t stopped him from working hard to get ready. Wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El is thrilled with Burden’s recent progress. He told Adam Jahns of CHGO that the rookie has been getting critical lessons on playing the position from an unlikely source.

“He’s taking it well,” Randle El said. “And he’s learned from the guys in the room, particularly Olamide, who’s been real good in terms of grooming him and teaching him as we go along: how to be pro and what it looks like, seeing coverages and all those type things.”

One would think Olamide Zaccheaus wouldn’t be interested in helping along the rookie because it would threaten his chances of getting targets in the offense. It speaks to the veteran’s professionalism and team-oriented mindset.

The Bears know they don’t have to rush Luther Burden.

In years past, any highly drafted receiver they took would have to see the field immediately due to depth problems. That isn’t the case with this team. Even before the draft, Chicago had assembled a solid trio of D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Zaccheaus. Luther Burden was just such an incredible talent that they couldn’t in good conscience pass on him. Having those other three means they can bring Burden along at a more gradual pace. He can get comfortable within the offense, learn the intricacies, and understand what the coaches want. He’ll be much better prepared by the time he starts getting real snaps.