The Chicago Bears failed to start the Ben Johnson era with a win in Week 1. The Bears allowed 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to go along with a string of questionable decisions and a lack of adjustment, resulting in a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Although head coach Ben Johnson clearly has some soul-searching to do and adjustments to make, the Bears' offense flashed glimpses of the explosive and creative unit he created in Detroit. More importantly, quarterback Caleb Williams looked settled in on the offense for the most part.
Johnson gave Williams a longer leash to use his legs, and it resulted in him falling just shy of his career-high of rushing yards (70) in an NFL game, which could be a positive indicator of what's to come.
Caleb Williams Showcases Mobility in 1st Game Under Ben Johnson
Williams averaged 28.8 rushing yards on 4.8 carries per game as a rookie. Fast forward to Monday, when he rushed six times for 58 yards (9.7 per attempt) against the Vikings and fell just inches short of recording his second rushing touchdown of the season.
Interestingly enough, some of Williams' carries didn't come as a result of a broken play. Johnson trusted the Bears' franchise signal-caller to take off, scramble, and make plays with his legs, and it paid off.
Williams is fast and agile enough to be a factor with his legs, especially in the red zone. He didn't always showcase his dual-threat skill set last season, and adding that layer to his game will open up things for everybody in the Windy City.
Bears' Offensive Line Shows Promise
Finding silver linings after this loss isn't easy, but the other positive aspect was the way the new-look offensive line responded. They were going against one of the most creative defensive coordinators in all of football, and Brian Flores' infamous blitz packages usually spell trouble for opposing quarterbacks.
Then again, the Bears only gave up one sack all night. That's a big improvement after Williams took a league-high and franchise record 68 sacks in his first year in the league.
On the downside, new right guard Jonah Jackson had several penalties and didn't provide much for the running game. At the same time, the unit showed signs of promise in pass-protection, and they should only get better as the year goes by.
The Bears kept shooting themselves in the foot with all the penalties, and Johnson looked like a first-year coach, but they can't dwell on that forever. Chicago must focus on the few bright spots before heading into a Week 2 clash with the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.