After the Whistle | Handing out midseason grades for the Chicago Bears
Down in the tunnel of Paycor Stadium, Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey could only watch.
His Bears had a two-score lead and lost it in just about two minutes. A rookie tight end rumbled for a 58-yard touchdown to retake the lead. A journeyman cornerback intercepted a final heave to preserve a 47-42 win.
The Chairman handed out some hugs and high-fives before delivering an enthralled fist pump.
That's the good stuff. The Bears are 5-3.
But, it's fair to worry how they got there.
Here are our takeaways from the Bears’ wacky, wild and insane win over the Bengals.
Monangai’s breakout game is massive for the offense
The Bears were without one of their most consistent weapons in D’Andre Swift against the Bengals. They didn’t miss him, though.
That’s because their rookie emerged.
Kyle Monangai, the rookie seventh-round selection out of Rutgers, took over. He rushed for 176 yards on 26 carries and caught three passes for 22 yards. He was two yards away from a 200-yard day from scrimmage.
How good was Monangai?
Monangai had the second-most rushing yards by a single game by Bears rookie, second only to Anthony Thomas’ 188 yards in his rookie season in 2001.
There are only two running backs in Bears history to have rushed for at least 175 yards while carrying the ball at least 26 times in a single game. Those two running backs are Walter Payton and Kyle Monangai. It’s pretty good company to keep.
The good teammate in Monangai passed credit to his offensive line.
"The guys up front are moving people. If you watch the film, the line of scrimmage is moving. They were doing double teams, single blocks," Monangai said. "They did their job today, at a high level. That’s the simple answer as to why the run game was what it was."
He did this as a gritty, grinding back that churned out yards in between the tackles. This directly complements Swift’s ability to play in space. It makes the Bears’ running game versatile and brings variety to the offense.
This break out game wasn’t anything too crazy for Bears head coach Ben Johnson, though.
"I’m not surprised," Johnson said. "That’s kind who he’s been since he’s been here. He’s very reliable. He’s gonna do what you’re coaching, and he’s hard to bring down. I think that showed up. What he was at Rutgers was the bell-cow for that team, and he proved today he can carry that load if called upon."
If there’s anything to carry ahead from Sunday, it’s how the running game could turn a corner with Monangai’s emergence.
This was a step forward for Caleb Williams
The Bears’ offense was a unit on Sunday.
It recorded over 500 yards of total offense. The passing offense recorded 302 yards and four touchdowns. The running game averaged 7.6 yards per carry, and finished the day with 283 rush yards.
Caleb Williams had 280 passing yards and three touchdowns.
One thing plenty wanted to see Williams do was take the checkdown more often. He did on Sunday. He missed a few, but you can’t hit them all.
That’s a step forward in believing he’s the long-term guy in Chicago. Johnson, who has always been great at putting things in perspective, did so after the game.
"Here’s what I know — he threw some touchdowns, didn’t throw any interceptions, and I thought he used his legs to help us extend drives as well," Johnson said. "I was pleased with that."
CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 02: Tee Higgins #5 of the Cincinnati Bengals catches a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter while defended by Nahshon Wright #26 of the Chicago Bears in the game at Paycor Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Cincinnati,
There’s no absolving the defense and special teams
When Loveland caught his final reception of the day, he immediately took note of the situation. There were just 20 seconds left. The Bears had no timeouts. He saw nothing but green grass.
"I spun around and I’m like, man, I’m still up," Loveland said. "I may as well try to score this thing."
Loveland scored. The defense and special teams were let off the hook, but they’re in no way absolved.
The defense recorded three sacks and three turnovers. They had a fumble recovery on a strip sack and two interceptions. The final interception was on the final desperation heave by Flacco.
Away from that, the defense allowed 495 total net yards, 7.6 yards per offensive play, a go-ahead touchdown drive and a 40-year-old quarterback to throw for 470 yards.
The special teams allowed a blocked field goal, opened the game allowing a kick return for a touchdown, had a long kick return called back with a flag and allowed the Bengals to recover an onside kick, which led to the go-ahead touchdown drive.
These issues loom less large after a win, but this would be a reason the Bears lose multiple games if the issues continue.
Johnson said he’s not making any snap judgments. That’s fair. The Bengals do have a very good offense.
But this is the second game in a row where the defense and special teams have struggled. It was on a much higher level on Sunday.
The Bears need to find a way to improve that if they really want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender.
"I'm not going to make any knee-jerk reactions here right after the game," Johnson said. "We'll look at that tape. We’ll evaluate what we did well and what we didn't do well. And if we need to make adjustments, we will."
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