The Chicago Bears couldn’t get it done on opening night against the Minnesota Vikings. There were multiple reasons why. Caleb Williams went through a bad stretch where he missed open receivers. The defense allowed three consecutive touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Cairo Santos missed a crucial field goal and failed to kick the ball out of the end zone on the final kickoff, costing the Bears the two-minute warning. However, one thing that wasn’t talked about enough was the complete disappearance of the running game.

Excluding Williams’ scrambles, the Bears managed just 61 yards on 20 carries in the game. D’Andre Swift averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Not all of that was on him. Minnesota’s defensive line did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage, and Brian Flores loaded the box frequently. That said, Swift still missed opportunities. It sounds like head coach Ben Johnson is planning to shake things up going into Detroit this weekend. That means getting rookie Kyle Monangai more touches.

“I need to call more runs. We probably were at, what, under 20 for called runs in the game. I need to call more so that we get him in the game a little bit more. That’s something EB (Eric Bieniemy) and I have talked about, making sure he has more carries going forward.”

This was a move that felt inevitable for the Chicago Bears.

Swift is a talented player who can do many good things. However, he never felt like a good fit for Johnson’s offense. The Bears head coach runs a primarily wide-zone scheme, which demands a running back with good vision who can see where the lanes will develop. Swift has never been able to do that consistently. By contrast, Monangai may not have the same speed or athleticism, but his vision is excellent. He demonstrated a great sense of where the holes would be countless times at Rutgers. He’s also more of a downhill runner, something Johnson prefers as his primary back. It isn’t clear why Chicago didn’t get him more involved against Minnesota, but he was coming off an injury. Whatever the case, it sounds like the training wheels are off. Monangai will get his shot on Sunday.

Caleb Williams was at the heart of the Chicago Bears‘ painful opening night loss to Minnesota. While he didn’t have a bad game statistically, his inability to score more than 17 points despite numerous opportunities left the door open for the Vikings. People couldn’t get over his accuracy issues. There were several moments where he had receivers open and failed to hit them. He never seemed comfortable, and Minnesota’s aggressive front only exacerbated that. Nobody from the locker room blamed Williams for the loss. There was plenty of that to go around.

Still, Adam Jahns of CHGO did mention that some frustration is bubbling up among teammates about Williams. It isn’t for the reasons you think, though. The issue is pre-snap cadence. For those who don’t know, quarterbacks use a cadence to do several things:

• Communicate with teammates
• Identify defensive looks
• Time the snap to give the offense a rhythm
• Adjust plays at the line of scrimmage
• Keep the defense off-balance with variations

The problem is that cadences involve a lot of information. Quarterbacks must digest it quickly. If they don’t, mistakes—in most cases, penalties—result. Chicago was hit with four false starts on Monday night. Ben Johnson admitted after the game that the cadence issues were to blame. It’s been something Williams has struggled with for months.

It’s having an impact on his teammates. The false starts are credited to them – not Williams – on the scoresheet. Right now, they’re all saying the right things. Everyone’s execution needs to be better. But if the problems continue and the Bears’ offense continues to play behind the sticks, I think it’s fair to wonder how some players, particularly those tasked with protecting Williams, deal with the cadence issues.

Caleb Williams is hardly the first to deal with this problem.

Young quarterbacks don’t use verbal cadences much anymore in college. Offenses have shifted to ones involving clapping, which decreases confusion and allows offenses to play faster. Caleb Williams did this at both Oklahoma and USC. Most college quarterbacks are totally unprepared for verbal cadences in the NFL. It is not anywhere close to as easy as guys like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen make it look. Johnson’s offense is the truest pro experience. It is detailed and complex. Cadences are required because adjustments are built into every single play. The quarterback is required to know which ones go against which defensive look.

This is why Johnson wants Williams out of the huddle as quickly as possible. The faster he gets to the line of scrimmage, the more time he has to assess the situation and make the call. So far, the quarterback isn’t getting it. Either the Bears must hope things eventually click, or they may have to adjust their plans to accommodate Williams.

Opening night was too familiar for Chicago Bears fans. Once again, their quarterback couldn’t execute with any consistency, and they lost the game. Caleb Williams had months to prepare for this game. He was coached by Ben Johnson, one of the best in the business. While his numbers weren’t terrible, he missed several open receivers with throws that were just plain off target. If he’d hit even half of them, there is a strong probability the Bears win that game. It led to immediate speculation whether Williams might ever get over his bad tendencies of holding the ball too long and his streaks of inaccuracy. It has already led to the forbidden question that was inevitable if this situation came up.

Would Johnson dare turn to Tyson Bagent?

The backup recently signed a contract extension to stay in Chicago, which was a mild surprise, considering many feel he could compete for a starting job elsewhere. Everybody in the building loves him, including Johnson. He’s been so impressed with his intelligence and work ethic. Still, it seems crazy to think the head coach would abandon Williams this year, right? Well, one source dropped some details on that. While it sounds like there is no plan to make a change anytime soon, it’s believed Johnson won’t tolerate games like Monday night for long.

“Nobody is panicking in the building, but Ben isn’t going to watch him miss big plays for 10 weeks.”

Ben Johnson won’t be afraid to pull the trigger if necessary.

It is abundantly clear that the head coach has high standards for the quarterback position. He will give Williams a grace period because it’s a new offense, and it should take a few weeks to get comfortable. That said, Ben Johnson wasn’t the problem in that game. He gave Williams multiple opportunities to hit big plays. Far too many of them were either missed or passed on because the quarterback didn’t see it or wasn’t willing to test the coverage.

Bagent doesn’t have the same arm talent as Williams or the same athleticism. However, he does have size and accuracy and has demonstrated a clear command of the line of scrimmage. He sees the game the way a professional should. Johnson wants somebody under center he can trust. He might be willing to sacrifice the talent gap in favor of consistency.

You never want to admit your favorite team failed to learn from its mistakes. Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way in sports. For over thirty years, the Chicago Bears have felt trapped in perpetual purgatory. Outside of some brief stretches of success, they’ve been mired in mediocrity or outright awfulness. However, as time has gone on over the past decade, that assessment isn’t true. It is now becoming clear that the Bears are in hell and seem to have no way of escaping it.

The new evidence came courtesy of a new graphic from Jrfortgang on Twitter (X). It shows every starting quarterback and their average time to throw, which shows how long they often hold the ball before throwing. Take a look at where Caleb Williams sits, and who happens to be right next to him.

That’s right. Williams is in the same area as Justin Fields, the quarterback Chicago got rid of before drafting him. If that doesn’t sum up the Bears’ luck at the position, nothing will. However, it gets even better (or in this case, worse). WTF Stats dropped this gem on Threads.

Time is a flat circle for the Chicago Bears.

Not only did they seemingly fail to learn from their mistakes at quarterback, but they seem to have hired another head coach who can’t pull the team out of its disappointing tendency to wilt under pressure. Now, in fairness, Ben Johnson is not Matt Nagy. His career will likely unfold in very different ways. It’s just eerie seeing his stint begin the exact same way Nagy’s did. Then again, maybe that’s a sign. Nagy overcame that brutal loss to go 12-4 that 2018 season. Maybe Johnson turns the loss into fuel for a rebound. Whether he can do it with a quarterback who still holds the ball too long remains to be determined. This partnership is central to the Bears’ success this year. Can they mesh in ways Nagy never could with Fields or Mitch Trubisky? We should know by midseason.

In his first game as a head coach, Ben Johnson got dealt a learning experience. His Chicago Bears started with a purpose, seizing control of the game early. However, things unraveled in the second half as the offense went cold and bad mistakes allowed the Minnesota Vikings to rally. To his credit, and probably the surprise of many, Johnson took ownership of many of those issues. During a teleconference on Tuesday, he admitted that he didn’t call a good game offensively. Allowing Cairo Santos to attempt kicking it through the end zone was also a mistake he admitted.

However, his most telling answer came when breaking down his biggest error. It came in the third quarter. Minnesota hit T.J. Hockenson on a short pass with the tight end going to his knees. He appeared to try standing up. Right as that happened, linebacker Noah Sewell punched the ball out. Hockenson was ruled down by contact, though. Johnson challenged the play, believing the knees were off the turf. They were not. That decision cost the Bears a timeout, which proved crucial in the game’s final minutes.

Johnson admitted that his people in the booth told him not to challenge it. He did anyway.

“I thought I saw knees up, and so that’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job listening to the guys up top. I get influenced a little bit for the first time with the people around me, and I’ve just got to stay true to the process.

“Those (timeouts) are very valuable, and having that at the end of the game would have been huge for us.”

Ben Johnson made what anybody would call a rookie mistake.

He was caught up in the moment, believing he had a chance at getting the ball back and putting the game away. More seasoned coaches wouldn’t have taken the risk, knowing they’d need the timeouts later. Ben Johnson recognized the mistake and, again, owned up to it. He is learning quickly who and who not to trust with big decisions. In this case, trust the people you hired to watch replay videos, but don’t trust a kicker you should know doesn’t have a strong leg to do something only strong-legged kickers can. These are all things head coaches learn on the job, often the hard way. At least Johnson isn’t trying to bury his head in the sand until people stop talking about it. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t make those mistakes a second time.

Caleb Williams did not have the opener he wanted. On the surface, he didn’t play poorly. He had over 200 yards passing, led the team in rushing, and scored two touchdowns. However, he only completed 60% of his passes. A closer look at the tape showed him missing some premium opportunities for big plays because of inaccuracy. Unsurprisingly, the media sphere lambasted him for it. The Chicago Bears had a 17-6 lead, and Williams’ inability to close the door in the third quarter allowed the Vikings to rally for the win. It was a gut punch.

Already, people are talking about a possible QB change. That won’t happen anytime soon, but it tells you how nervous people are about Williams’ lack of progress. Then you have Kurt Warner. The Hall of Fame quarterback is notorious for his criticism of the Bears quarterback last season. However, that was not the case after Monday night. After watching the film, Warner revealed that he thinks Williams played better than he got credit for. He made mostly good decisions all night and had four outstanding plays and 25 good ones. The primary issue was inaccuracy and his tendency to play the game too fast.

It wasn’t helped by the lack of a running game and not always being in the right play call. Things his counterpart, J.J. McCarthy, didn’t have to worry about.

Caleb Williams is operating in foreign territory.

This offense he’s learning under Johnson is almost totally alien to him. Caleb Williams spent almost his entire football life playing a shotgun, spread offense, where he used his natural gifts to make plays. Johnson runs the more classic under-center system, built around running the ball and play action. It requires precise footwork and timing, and a quarterback needs to process a lot of knowledge in such a system. Williams only just started learning to do such things last year and that was under an atrocious staff. What Johnson has done with him over the summer is load his plate with everything. In such cases, you’ll often see a young quarterback struggle.

Warner understands that. His eye is far better trained than most people’s. He believes there were a lot of encouraging things about Williams’ performance in the game. With time and growing comfort in the system, he should play much better in the coming weeks.

The Chicago Bears don’t want to overreact to the first game of the season, as painful as it was. There are 16 more to go. A lot can happen in that time. Still, head coach Ben Johnson doesn’t seem like the type with extensive patience. He isn’t going to bench quarterback Caleb Williams for one uneven performance. The same goes for others on the offense. However, there might be one particular player who should be very careful about erasing his mistakes in the next couple of weeks.

That is kicker Cairo Santos.

It was a rough evening for the veteran. He made life harder for the team by missing a 50-yard field goal, which proved the difference in the game. Then, in the final moments, the Bears needed a touchback to preserve the two-minute warning. Santos insisted he could get the ball through the back of the end zone. He didn’t get enough. Minnesota returned it and erased the time before the two-minute warning. That robbed the Bears of a precious time stoppage that killed their last opportunity. Johnson clearly wasn’t happy about it.

Ben Johnson is a pragmatic man.

Here’s the hard truth. The Bears have accommodated Santos for years because he’s one of the most accurate kickers in the league inside 45 yards. However, his lack of leg strength has put them at a disadvantage since field goal range is much further away on offensive drives and offers return opportunities on kickoffs. Meanwhile, other teams have guys who can routinely hit bombs from 60 yards now. Santos has to prove he has more value somehow. Ben Johnson won’t continue letting mistakes like that cost the team victories. Kickers are much easier to replace than quarterbacks. As good as Santos has been, there must be a time when the Bears stop handicapping themselves. It may come sooner than we think.