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CHICAGO, Ill., — On a rainy, wet, and miserable day at Soldier Field on Sunday, the Chicago Bears lost 9-3 in their home opener of the 2026 season to the division rival Minnesota Vikings.
While the loss hurts, the big story coming out of this game was the injury to Caleb Williams that made the once rowdy crowd at the start of the game go quiet late in the fourth quarter. Even though the injury to Williams doesn't appear to be as severe as it looked in the moment, that doesn't take away from a game that was a chore to sit through with the team riding high after their week one win in a shootout. In all phases, the Bears were sloppy, outclassed in the trenches and failed to execute in big moments in order to come away with the win in tough weather conditions. The offense that just put up 59 points the week before was stuck in neutral for most of the afternoon, despite the defense stepping up with a solid outing to make things interesting down the stretch.
On an individual level, the juxtaposition between the offense and defense was present as well. While the Bears got multiple standout performances on the defensive side of the ball, the same can't be said on offense. Instead, a series of errors from multiple players led to the worst offensive showing in the Ben Johnson era to date.
With that said, here are our winners and losers from a dreary week two loss. Make sure to check back with the Bear Report for complete coverage of the rest of the 2026 regular season for the Bears.
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James Lynch
(Photo: Mike Dinovo via Reuters Connect)
Despite only playing 28 total snaps, James Lynch made the most of them with an impactful game at defensive end. Lynch primarily played a big role in run defense, helping to hold the Vikings to 4.3 yards per rush on the day. Even with a small workload, Lynch tied for the team lead with seven tackles, four of which were defensive stops, which signify tackles that constitute "failures" for the offense.
In the early going of the season, Lynch has had an interesting role in this defense, as while he has primarily played defensive tackle for his career, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has been using him exclusively as a defensive end to start the season. Regardless of where he plays, Lynch has made positive contributions as a run defender in the early going of the season.
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TJ Edwards vs Minnesota Vikings Week 2
(Photo: Patrick Gorski via Reuters Connect)
After struggling last week, Edwards had a solid bounce-back game in the wet conditions. This game devolving into a run-first, grind-it-out affair played into his strengths as a player, particularly in run defense. Edwards tied for the team lead in defensive stops, totaling four for the afternoon. Most importantly, after missing four tackles in week one, Edwards didn't have a single missed tackle this time around. All-in-all, this was a solid performance for the veteran linebacker to make up for the dud in week one.
Tyrique Stevenson vs Minnesota Vikings Week 2
(Photo: Patrick Gorski via Reuters Connect)
Another defensive player who gained some redemption from a rough week one was Tyrique Stevenson at cornerback. On the first play of the game, Stevenson gave up a 30-yard reception to Justin Jefferson on a vertical route, but that was the only notable loss he had in coverage all day long. Of the four times he was targeted, that was the only reception he allowed. Stevenson even added a pass breakup on a similar route later on in the game. In run defense, Stevenson had some promising moments as well, including a bone-crushing hit on Aaron Jones that caused the latter's helmet to pop off his head. Overall, while cornerback can be a volatile position, the Bears will need more of this from Stevenson in the weeks to come.
Dillon Thieneman vs Minnesota Vikings week 2
(Photo: Matt Marton via Reuters Connect)
For two weeks in a row, the rookie defensive back continued to make plays. Thieneman led the team in tackles once again, totaling seven for the game with only one missed tackle. In the slot, Malik Muhammad made another big play, this time with his first sack in the NFL on a play where he was brought on a blitz. Muhammad was also solid in coverage, not allowing a single reception on two targets. If the Bears can get this level of play from both of their rookies on a consistent basis, that will bode well for the defense in the future.
Caleb Williams versus Minnesota Vikings Week 2
Caleb Williams versus Minnesota Vikings Week 2
Caleb Williams is a loser from week two, but that has less to do with his performance and more to do with an unfortunate injury that is likely to cause him to miss some time. When it comes to his performance, Williams was solid at times despite the lackluster box score. Williams only threw for 138 yards in terrible conditions for a functional passing game and had a rough interception on an extended play where he threw the ball across the grain.
All everyone is going to talk about coming out of this game, however, is the last play he had. There was a collective gasp in Soldier Field when Williams went down, but there is some comfort in knowing that he did not suffer a serious injury and is instead working through a minor hamstring strain. Still, this will present some challenges for Williams and the Bears as they look ahead to a Monday Night game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
D'Andre Swift vs Minnesota Vikings week 2
D'Andre Swift vs Minnesota Vikings week 2
After a strong showing in week one, where he ran for three touchdowns, D'Andre Swift was an overall detriment to the Bears' offense in week two. Swift averaged 2.8 yards per carry in the game, only accumulating 45 yards on the ground. While some of this is due to the Vikings winning the matchup in the trenches, there were some times where Swift's vision failed him and he didn't maximize the play by going through the correct hole.
The biggest mistake that Swift made, however, was his fumble down on the goal line that turned the moment of the game early in the second half. In wet conditions, you simply can't have those types of mistakes in key situations when points are a premium.
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Through two weeks of the season, Garrett Bradbury has been the weak link of the Bears' offensive line, and that showed up often on Sunday. On a play-by-play basis, Bradbury struggled the most, as he had a hard time moving people off the ball in the run game and was consistently pushed back in pass protection. With that said, it was his untimely penalties that hurt the offense the most against the Vikings.
Bradbury was flagged for four penalties on the day, including two snap infractions. Two of those penalties came on the same drive, the first being a holding penalty that set the offense back before a false start just added to a series of errors on third and 24, leading to a punt after a promising start. Overall, the Bears need more from their veteran center, otherwise, the calls for rookie Logan Jones to take his place will become much louder as the season progresses.
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(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
While the Bears got good contributions from their rookies on the defensive side of the ball, the same can't be said with Sam Roush. It was a miserable day for the young tight end, as he had multiple key blunders over the course of his 20 offensive snaps and nine special teams snaps. In the passing game, Roush was credited with one drop, which doesn't include his inability to come down with a contested catch opportunity late in the game that likely would have gone for a touchdown had he come down with the pass from Williams in traffic.
After Williams got injured a few plays later and the Bears were unable to score on the goal line, Roush also failed to secure the edge on the field goal attempt that led to the blocked kick. While Roush isn't soley responsible for the Bears not scoring on that drive and the offensive woes in general, it was still a brutal series for the rookie that likely resulted in the Bears not coming away with the victory. In many ways, it was an exclamation point to an overall tough start to the season for the rookie.