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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson on field against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Monday marks the first time that the Bears will open the regular season on Monday Night Football. It’s a time for new beginnings, including the dawn of the Ben Johnson era in Chicago, 229 days since the Bears introduced the former Lions offensive coordinator as the 19th head coach in franchise history.
Momentum is seemingly on the Bears’ side, in large part due to Johnson’s hiring. But a new head coach and an almost entirely fresh perspective throughout the entire staff weren’t the only significant improvements made over the offseason.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles also acquired a brand new interior to their offensive line, one season after former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams was sacked a franchise record 68 times.
Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman should help Williams bring that number down. But it’s on the quarterback to improve within the pocket in his second year, too.
It’s a new look, and hopefully, a new result — one capable of breaking a cycle that’s doomed the Bears to divisional irrelevance for more than a decade aside from a singular blip in 2018 and kept the Bears off of the game’s biggest stage for nearly 19 years.
Like Hank Williams Jr. once asked in the Monday Night Football promos of old: Are you ready for some football?
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Here are our predictions for Monday’s season-opener at Soldier Field between the Bears and Vikings:
Adam Hoge
There are many reasons to believe Ben Johnson’s success over Brian Flores will carry over to Chicago, but there are also countless practices full of pre-snap issues (and Johnson never downplaying those issues) to suggest that the start of this season will be bumpy.
It would not surprise me at all if the Bears lose the opener to the Vikings, but end up beating them Nov. 16 in Minneapolis. I expect the Bears defense to come out inspired against a rookie quarterback, but there are significant questions about the pass rush, Jaylon Johnson’s health and what the unit will look like if linebacker T.J. Edwards can’t play Monday night.
Vikings 23, Bears 20
Adam Jahns
History sides with Ben Johnson but he’s not taking the field with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta on Monday Night Football. I’m expecting some growing pains early on for the Bears’ offense.
Vikings 23, Bears 20
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Mark Carman
Remember 2019 and all the hype of the home night opener on a perfect Thursday to kick off NFL season 100?! Apologize for bringing that up, but it was the dud of all duds and started the downfall of Matt Nagy.
The Bears have their next offensive guru — this time a real one with a real résumé — I don’t expect to see more than a glimpse of what is to come from Ben Johnson, but I am optimistic that we will see enough for the Bears to start the season in style with the defense leading the way. Caleb leads a 4th quarter TD drive as Soldier Field erupts in pandemonium.
Bears 20, Vikings 18
Patrick Norton
How we look at this game begins with how much stock we’re buying in J.J. McCarthy this season. After tearing his meniscus in the preseason and missing his entire rookie campaign last year, McCarthy’s been handed the keys to Kevin O’Connell’s QB-friendly offense. If there was any silver lining in a season lost to injury, it was McCarthy’s ability to soak up as much information in the meeting room while watching Sam Darnold operate.
As for the Bears’ offense, one area I thought Caleb Williams excelled in during training camp was when facing disguised blitzes from Dennis Allen’s defense. Could that translate against Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy defense on Monday night? Absolutely. But I still like McCarthy with O’Connell in his first NFL start.
Vikings 27, Bears 20
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Greg Braggs Jr.
Yes, there’s still a lot for the Bears to prove, but so does J.J. McCarthy. And I think J.J. is walking into a tough environment for his first career start. Soldier Field + Dennis Allen, I believe, will cause the Vikings to force some things offensively and create some takeaways for the Bears. That should lead to a couple of short fields and easier scores for Caleb Williams and the offense. A lot of uncertainty, but the chess match between both coaching staffs will be very intriguing.
Bears 24, Vikings 13
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