Grading five aspects of the Bears in their 27-24 loss to the Vikings in their season opener:
CALEB WILLIAMS — C
You go 6-for-6 for 51 yards and a nine-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the season, and you instantly earn yourself some wiggle room. But after going 13-for-16 in the first half, he went 8-for-19 in the second. He missed a handful of throws — particularly a fourth-and-two attempt in the second quarter on which he didn’t come close to DJ Moore — and had an intentional-grounding penalty that temporarily pushed the Bears out of field-goal range. He did scramble exceptionally (six rushes, 58 yards) and step up in the pocket like a quarterback who actually possesses a keen sense of the pass rush. Isn’t that different?
COACHES — B-
Head coach Ben Johnson’s stoic visage after that first TD made him the coolest customer in the stadium, a fine look, though things got a lot more challenging after that. No massive gaffes humiliating a city was even more refreshing. On the other hand, the Bears probably shouldn’t have kicked deep with 2:05 to go if Cairo Santos couldn’t boot it out of the end zone; it helped the Vikings kill the clock. A tip of the helmet to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, whose injury-depleted crew was dynamite for much of the way. Alas, the ‘‘D’’ caved down the stretch — unsurprising under the circumstances — so Allen, like his boss, has a drawing board to get back to.
OFFENSIVE LINE — C+
Williams’ movement made the remade unit look pretty good against the Vikings’ dangerous pass rush. There were false starts — not unexpected in the opener, though never OK — and Williams certainly didn’t have much time to set up shop in the pocket. The run blocking was essentially run-of-the-mill. All in all, no one comes away losing sleep over newcomers Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman or even, for now, left tackle Braxton Jones.
DEFENSIVE BACKS — E FOR EFFORT
Jaylon who? Kyler who? With star cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon inactive, the degree to which others stepped up in the first three quarters was surprising and impressive. Nahshon Wright had a 42-yard pass-interference penalty that led to a Vikings field goal for their first points, but, man, did he make up for it. Wright’s third-quarter pick-six, a 74-yarder after jumping Justin Jefferson’s route along the sideline, was the play of the night. Safety Jonathan Owens also made a terrific tackle to foil a two-point conversion attempt.
THE ROOKIES — C
There wasn’t much of anything to see here. Tight end Colston Loveland went into the late stages of the game with only a couple of minor catches. Wide receiver Luther Burden had a sweet 44-yard kickoff return. Running back Kyle Monangai was flagged for holding, though the Vikings didn’t accept the penalty. Second-round defensive lineman Shemar Turner was out with an ankle injury.
