2025 Week 1: Chicago Bears 24, Minnesota Vikings 27

Work to do. [Photo: Ashlee Rezin, Sun-Times]

Player Grades

The grading scale goes from -2 to +2, in half-point increments, for each play. Screens are graded as runs. Penalties are counted in whatever phase they were committed. Pre- and post-snap penalties are in the “Misc.” column. “Short” throws are less than 15 yards, “Deep” is over 15 or more. Everything else (scrambles, throwaways, reads, etc.) is under “Miscellaneous.” Parentheses in a column denote grades/snaps from the opposite side of the ball and are not included in grades/snaps from the player’s usual side. Snap counts are from Pro Football Reference. Box score and other relevant info can be found at that link as well.

So…Caleb?

I was much less disappointed with his performance after the film review. There were a couple throws that were just straight-up inaccurate, and that’s got to get cleaned up, no doubt, but most of the missed opportunities felt like they were just matters of Caleb not having the offense totally down yet. Once he starts getting more comfortable and can get through his progression faster, things should look drastically better. Because there were opportunities there. It’s game one of year one; that shouldn’t be totally surprising. If it still looks like this in November, then it’s a cause for concern. 

As it was, he did a good job not forcing things and keeping the ball out of trouble. He looked noticeably more poised in the pocket, which is no small thing, especially given that he was being asked to operate more from under center than he ever had before. Ultimately, I think we were all too bullish on how quickly the offense could be installed, especially when there was one key element that we saw on Detroit that left a lot to be desired. 

The run game sucked. 

Yeah, that. I didn’t think Swift was the problem, hence the lack of minuses. He ran at the right spots, but the blocking repeatedly let him down. Thuney was the only starter to grade out positively in run blocking and even that wasn’t a very good score. Everyone else ranged from disappointing to awful. Often, plays were one block away from being chunks, so it does seem fixable with a little time. But until it gets fixed, it’s going to be rough since this offense depends on being able to run the ball.

The pass protection, though

The two guys I was already mad at stunk, but both tackles and Thuney were very good. Wright, in particular, was awesome. Thuney’s experience certainly helped, especially notable when it came to picking up stunts – he actually knows how to do it. This was a welcome change from last year, when just about any stunt was a free ticket to the backfield. It was an encouraging performance given the edge rushers the Bears will see this year. The division is tough enough, but Trey Hendrickson, TJ Watt, Myles Garrett, and Nick Bosa also loom. 

Speaking of areas we were concerned about

The pass rush had its moments, but still felt lacking, especially once McCarthy settled in. Odeyingbo started out strong and was the best of the edge rushers, but as the game went on, that felt like faint praise, especially once you factor in his struggles keeping the edge against the run. Tanoh Kpassagnon did enough to pipp Dominque Robinson once Austin Booker’s healthy. Robinson making the roster always felt like Poles just not wanting to admit that was a bad pick. Pass rush from the interior was Dexter and that was pretty much it. Frankly, Jarrett was disappointing. I see no reason to not play Shemar Turner over Chris Williams.

The defense was good until it wasn’t, though

Yeah, going into this game down Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon could’ve been a disaster and it wasn’t. Stevenson held his own, Nahshon Wright had a pick six, and Nick McCloud was a pleasant surprise. Job well done on that front.

Another pleasant surprise

Hello, Noah Sewell. There were a couple coverage biffs, but if you’re grading out even in coverage as a linebacker, we’ll take that. They can’t all be Brian Urlacher. Sewell was impressive against the run all night. He was routinely in the right spots, he fought through blocks, he made tackles. Contrast that with Tremaine “Looks Like Tarzan, Plays Like Jane” Edmunds, for whom those first two tasks proved quite difficult. I liked Edmunds in coverage, but that alone doesn’t justify the price tag.

Game management

Sucked. Going for it on 4th and 3 (just take the points), wasting the timeout in the second half on a challenge to try to get a fumble (it was never going to get overturned), and letting the Vikings get to the two minute warning on a kick return (if Cairo’s not dead sure he can get it through the end zone, either let Taylor kick it or just kick it out of bounds. Or kick it short of the landing zone. Really anywhere except the landing zone or end zone. It’s only 5 extra yards. Who cares?) were all inexcusable decisions. Letting the Vikings get a field goal at the end of the first half also can’t happen – that one’s on Allen. Ben just making the correct decisions on the ones that were directly his call means that instead of the Vikings being able to effectively run out the clock, Caleb’s getting it back with 1:40 or so with the chance to win it with a field goal. It was Ben’s first regular season game as a head coach; one nickel says he cleans that stuff up. It’s the difference between Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur.

Monsters

Darnell Wright, Thuney, Sewell, Dexter, Byard

Chipmunks

Jackson, Dalman, Jarrett, Odeyingbo’s poor play against the run lands him here

Four Stars of the Game

Noah Sewell

  Dexter, Thuney, and Darnell Wright

  were all pretty much equal to me.

  They’ll split 2nd-4th place and each get 2 points in the standings.

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