When your defense gives up 37 points in a game, it can be difficult to find positives to talk about. The Chicago Bears did win the game, so that made it somewhat easier to view the defense through a less emotional lens. For one, the pass rush played well, pressuring Bryce Young 22 times. Most of the problems stem from a lack of gap integrity by the linebackers against the run and from the cornerbacks’ inability to play consistent coverage. However, there was plenty of good to take away from Dillon Thieneman.

The 25th overall pick would’ve been forgiven for looking a little overwhelmed. Most rookies do in their first game. Not Thieneman. He stood out far more than expected. Former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen certainly thought so.

Bowen played safety in his career. So he knows what he’s talking about. If he is complimenting Thieneman’s performance, it is worth noting. He doesn’t do that unless he sees it on tape. Many times, you’ll notice the rookie cleaning up mistakes by his teammates, limiting what probably should’ve been bigger gains. The rookie was truly Mr. Fix-It for much of the game.

Dillon Thieneman feels like a step in the right direction.

For too long, the Bears have tried to build their defense through a mix of pricey free agents and day two draft investments. It hasn’t worked. Kyler Gordon hasn’t lived up to his contract extension. Jaquan Brisker and Gervon Dexter are gone. Tyrique Stevenson probably isn’t far behind. Shemar Turner tore his ACL. T.J. Edwards was great at first, but he seems to have lost some of his juice. Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo were big disappointments last season. Coby Bryant has already injured his knee.

It’s hard to build good units in the NFL without a core supply of 1st round picks. The Bears haven’t been doing that, choosing to focus on the offense. Dillon Thieneman is the first defensive player they’ve taken in the 1st round since 2018. Small wonder he was probably their best player on Sunday outside of Montez Sweat. It finally feels like the Bears may have someone they can build around—a true blue-chip talent. Unfortunately, as we saw on Sunday, he can’t do it alone.

Will we see the defense at full strength?

This has been a persistent issue since last year. Due to ongoing injuries, the Bears never really saw the unit they’d built actually play together. Now, 2026 is off to the same start. Bryant and Gordon are out for at least another three games. Will the defense avoid further injuries until they return? That is certainly the hope. Their addition to the mix might help Thieneman stabilize the secondary, allowing the defensive front to create more havoc for opposing quarterbacks.

When watching the rookie play, he shows signs of what the Bears used to have with Mike Brown. Those who never saw the former Pro Bowl player in the 2000s really missed out. His intelligence and versatility made him such a weapon at the back end of those great defenses in 2001 and 2005. It is why the injuries that shortened his career were so heartbreaking. Thieneman has those same traits, and he’s a better athlete.

If you talk to any football experts about coaches with sterling reputations, chances are good that Brian Flores will come up. The Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator has emerged as one of the brightest minds in the league on that side of the ball. He’s done this by being one of the most creative and aggressive play-callers in the league. Since 2023, when he took over the job, the Vikings have ranked #1 in blitz percentage in every single year. Opening day was no different as Flores blitzed Jordan Love and the Packers 40 times. It was a key to Minnesota’s second-half comeback. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson isn’t ignorant of what he’s facing this weekend.

Flores gave his offense problems last year. The Bears managed just 17 and 19 points respectively in the two matchups between the teams. Johnson was asked if he ever feels like he’s falling into a trap of overthinking about what Flores may or may not know about his offensive plans. The head coach summed it up perfectly.

“I’m in that path right now.”

Needless to say, Johnson has a healthy amount of respect for his adversary and takes this challenge very seriously. The good news is his players aren’t nearly as inexperienced with the offensive system as they were last year. That could give them a greater advantage against Minnesota’s swirling maelstrom of an attack.

Ben Johnson understands the secret to what makes Flores great.

In many ways, it is the same thing that makes the Bears’ head coach great as a player caller, too. That is the ability always to bring something new to the table each week. When you think you have a grasp on what he’s doing, Flores will throw some unexpected wrinkles at you. That ability to constantly evolve is why he’s such a nightmare to prepare for. Johnson would know. He does the same thing, just on the offensive side. He said the best thing to do is prepare as much as you can and expect the unexpected.

“You try to have answers for everything … you’d like to think he’s put everything he could possibly do on tape until you play him next and you realize he hasn’t yet. So it’ll be something new. There always is with him and that’s what makes him such a good coordinator. It’s a great challenge. It really is. You have a lot of fun on game day. Now the week of preparation is not so much fun, but you know, there’s a lot of back and forth that goes into it.”

One example of this was last season. In the first meeting on opening night of 2025, Flores blitzed around 34.9% of the snaps. While high, that isn’t what you’d consider abnormal. Then, in the week 11 rematch, he jacked that up to 66.7%. There is no consistency or trend to pick up on. No doubt that was by design. You can’t prepare for something like that. Knowing he will blitz isn’t enough. It is about how often. The good news for Chicago is that this tactic isn’t a guaranteed solution.

Caleb Williams doesn’t fear the blitz.

Carolina went after him 21 times on Sunday. He went 9-of-15 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Since his rookie year, Williams has thrown 24 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions when blitzed. His passer rating against it last year, 91.6, was actually better than when he wasn’t blitzed (84.3). This doesn’t include his dangerous scrambling ability. Teams that overcommit with pressure often leave gaping lanes for him to seize as a runner. It is why most teams use their rush to keep him in the pocket. Will Flores do the same?

Ben Johnson may not care about that. The running game drives his system. The 291 yards they racked up last week prove that. If you can run on Flores, his blitz packages tend to lose their potency. Chicago already proved it last year with 140 yards in their win in Minnesota. How that unfolds early in the game will dictate how the chess match goes. Johnson is preparing for anything.

Beating up on the Carolina Panthers was a fun way to start the season for the Chicago Bears. However, they know much bigger challenges await them. It starts this Sunday when the division rival Minnesota Vikings come to town. Leading the way is defensive coordinator Brian Flores, highly regarded as one of the best in the NFL. Head coach Ben Johnson struggled to generate much offense in the two meetings last year, managing just 17 and 19 points, respectively. After watching Minnesota hang 39 on the Packers in week one, it’s safe to say the Bears will need more than that to win this game.

Thankfully, some recent Vikings injury news might improve their odds somewhat. It was announced that running back Jordan Mason will go on Injured Reserve with a broken thumb. This is a big loss for them. Mason was by far their steadiest presence in the running game last season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. The Bears certainly know that. Mason had 113 yards on 21 combined carries with a touchdown in the two meetings last year. This puts much more pressure on a 32-year-old Aaron Jones to carry the load. His 3.3 yards per carry last week against Green Bay doesn’t offer much hope.

The Chicago Bears are also watching the QB situation.

Original starter Kyler Murray left the opener early last week due to a concussion. His status for Sunday is up in the air. He hasn’t cleared the protocol. Typically, players take around nine days to fully recover. That means his status is a coin flip. If he’s out, that means the Bears will face Carson Wentz. The former Pro Bowler was rough last season, filling in for J.J. McCarthy, throwing 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He certainly played well against Green Bay, throwing 3 touchdowns and leading four unanswered touchdown drives to finish the game.

Much depends on how the Bears’ defense performs. Wentz does not respond well to pressure. He was sacked 3 times by Green Bay. He was saved thanks to some great plays made by Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson. If Chicago can at least contain one or both of them, it may force Wentz to hold the football, allowing the rush to set in. It will be even better if Mason’s absence hurts the run game as much as it could. After what happened last week, this defense has plenty to prove. Nobody wants to be viewed as the weak link of the football team.

Johnson vs. Flores will decide the outcome.

The chess match these two have is always a must-watch. Flores got the better end of it last year despite the teams splitting the series. You can bet Johnson hasn’t forgotten that. In their first four showdowns, he scored 30 or more points each time. He knows he can overcome that hyper-aggressive approach Flores loves. It’s a matter of crafting a game plan that ensures the players execute well. No major breakdowns in protection. Good communication. If you do that, even the Flores system can be solved.

Much of this will hinge on the running game. Minnesota has usually been good at stopping it. If the Bears can get it going, the Vikings will be in big trouble. They were 4-7 last season when allowed 120 yards or more on the ground. The Bears had 119 in their loss and 140 in their victory. Limiting the number of times Caleb Williams has to face that blitz is paramount.

When thinking about the Chicago Bears‘ 2024 draft class, most of the discussion begins and ends with quarterback Caleb Williams. Understandably so. Then you have wide receiver Rome Odunze. If there’s enough time left, you might get in some comments about 5th round pick Austin Booker. People almost always forget that, in the middle of that group, general manager Ryan Poles bucked conventional wisdom to take a punter in the 4th round. That was Iowa’s Tory Taylor.

There was no denying the skill. Taylor had become a legitimate weapon for the Hawkeyes during his college career, showcasing an intriguing ability to direct his kicks almost anywhere he wanted. If he brought that same prowess to Chicago, he could give the defense some major advantages with field position. Unfortunately, his first two seasons in the NFL can best be described as average. His punts went for 47.7 yards in 2024 and 47.8 yards in 2025. That ranked 14th and 15th in the league, respectively.

Some were questioning the wisdom of that pick. If the Bears wanted average punting, they could’ve just signed a guy off the street. Don’t look now, but Taylor may have turned a corner without anyone noticing.

Tory Taylor has become a weapon.

The first indication for many happened on opening day in Carolina. While he wasn’t on the field much because of how often the offense was scoring, Taylor did deliver one of the pivotal moments of the game. It was tied 21-21, and the Bears were out to punt. Carolina had a golden opportunity to seize momentum. Then Taylor hit a punt that seemed to veer towards the sideline before suddenly curving back towards the middle of the field. Panthers return Jimmy Horn struggled tracking it and muffed the punt. Chicago recovered and put up a field goal to regain the lead.

That “banana ball,” as head coach Ben Johnson called it, was something Tory Taylor had been working on all summer. It is among the most difficult types of punts to hit, further showing his remarkable prowess for directing his kicks. However, that wasn’t the only notable development. People seemed to gloss over what Taylor did in the preseason. While tons of players were busy battling for starting spots or roster slots, the punter casually showcased a significant increase in his punt distance.

Taylor had 5 of them go for 60 yards or more.

The Bears are much more dangerous if this is the new Taylor.

One should never turn one’s nose up at the prospect of great field position, especially from the defensive perspective. Last season, opponents started around the 29.8-yard line on Bears punts. That ranked near the middle of the pack. Taylor only had 21 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. That makes it tougher on the defense to get consistent stops. Especially one that has struggled at times. It seems that since the Bears weren’t able to really upgrade that side of the ball in a big way this offseason, they chose to seek other ways to help.

Getting a possible career year from Taylor would be a major boost. Forcing opponents to go 85-90 yards on many drives instead of 65-70 makes a huge difference. Taylor already had the accuracy needed for the job. It was about whether he could find more leg to give it the hang time and distance needed to suffocate opposing returns. That opener in Carolina felt like a real taste of something big on the horizon.

The thing to remember about Ben Johnson is that you can’t file him under “classy.” While the Chicago Bears head coach certainly holds great respect for other coaches, players, and various NFL people, all of that goes out the window on gamedays. Johnson has told his team on many occasions that his goal is not to win. It is to dominate. He doesn’t just want to beat you. He wants to grind you into the dirt. You didn’t get to see that side of him much in 2025, as he and the Bears kept falling behind in games.

That changed on Sunday in Carolina. The Bears’ offense rampaged over the Panthers all afternoon, piling up 554 yards and a whopping 59 points. It was the highest total ever achieved by a Bears offensive unit in franchise history. One would think Johnson would be more than satisfied with that outcome, what with clobbering Carolina by 22 points.

You would be wrong.

The head coach admitted to Jeff Joniak on ESPN 1000 that he considered going for two after the final touchdown to reach 60 points. He is a sick man.

Ben Johnson managed to avoid what would’ve been a controversy.

Keep in mind, fewer than four minutes were remaining in the game when Chicago scored. It was over. The Bears had locked up the win. Johnson had already made a statement with 59 points. Going for 60 to rub it in would’ve drawn a heated reaction from people around the league, accusing him of kicking a team when they were down. Maybe he just felt the Panthers weren’t worth that kind of statement. It’s not like they’re the Packers or Lions, after all. He chose to kick the extra point and move on.

Still, the fact that he contemplated the idea at all tells you how merciless he can be. Ben Johnson brings an intensity to games that few head coaches can match. To him, it’s war. You don’t win wars by being chivalrous. You win them by stomping your enemy until they surrender. If you look back at some of the most successful head coaches in NFL history, several of them weren’t known for their mercy. Bill Belichick notoriously ran up the score. So did Jimmy Johnson. People may have hated it, but it didn’t stop those teams from winning.

The point was made either way.

Scoring 60 would’ve been great, but it wouldn’t have changed much. The original intended point was made. Chicago stepped on their opponent’s neck and put them away with emphatic certainty. That was something they couldn’t really do last season. A major reason was their persistent inability to seize control of what they called the “middle eight.” Those are the four minutes at the end of the first half and four minutes at the beginning of the second. This time, the Bears put one in the end zone with 22 seconds left in the first half.

Then, after Carolina tied it 31-31, they scored four consecutive touchdowns to put it out of reach. Johnson had to love that. It was the latest sign that this unit is much more evolved than it was last season. They also carry a higher degree of confidence. Once an offense shifts from wanting to score to expecting to score, everything starts clicking. Johnson may have more opportunities to hit that 60 mark in the future.