After Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears squandered a lead in their Week 1 loss, they head into another fierce division rivalry game against the Detroit Lions.
In their season-opening clash with the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears started strong.
However, a missed field goal and defensive issues in the second half allowed quarterback J.J. McCarthy to lead his team to a comeback win, 27-24.
Chicago, under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, now heads to a hostile Ford Field in Detroit for Week 2.
Read more:Lions' Dan Campbell Makes Bold Statement to Ben Johnson for Bears Game
They'll play a Lions team that fell in their first game against the Green Bay Packers, who featured an impressive defense. The Bears are hoping they can get a strong defensive performance against the Lions.
During their season-opener, they were missing several key defensive players, as linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson didn't play. However, some encouraging news arrived ahead of the Lions game.
On Friday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that the two-time NFL Pro Bowler Johnson was off the team's injury report and will make his season debut in Sunday's game at Detroit.
While that is positive news, Pelissero also reported that cornerback Kyler Gordon is still out due to a hamstring injury.
In the Bears' Week 1 loss, they allowed 254 yards of offense to the Vikings, ranking them just behind the Packers in the early part of the season for fewest yards allowed per game.
Chicago's defense started strong in the third quarter against the Vikings as cornerback Nashon Wright intercepted McCarthy for a touchdown. However, Minnesota scored 21 points in the fourth en route to a thrilling victory.
Having Jaylon Johnson back should provide significant defensive help in what's expected to be another challenging matchup for Ben Johnson's squad in Week 2.
The corner has been with the Bears since they drafted him out of Utah in 2020. His 2024 Pro Bowl season included 42 solo tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
The season before that featured Johnson recording four interceptions, including a pick-six, the only one in his career thus far.
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