Chicago is really going to have to bear down for a standing eight-count.
The Bears weren’t doing much on offense in the persistent rain even before quarterback Caleb Williams departed after suffering a hamstring injury late in the game. But a week after putting up 59 points, making the scoreboard look like a Las Vegas slot machine, the Bears ran into a wall.
The result was a drippy 9–3 loss to the visiting Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, but the biggest worry was the team’s third-year signal caller, who went to the ground late in the fourth quarter and didn’t get up.
Williams rode a cart off the field, while backup Tyson Bagent came in and tried to guide the Bears to a victory. Bagent took a sack on the final play of the game as Chicago came up short to drop a divisional matchup that allowed the Vikings to move to 2–0.
Bears coach Ben Johnson had put the entire NFL on notice in the offseason, saying he wanted his team to light up the scoreboard and win games by wide margins with a record-setting number of points.
But it rained—literally and figuratively—on Johnson’s point parade on this day, and now his QB is facing time off, depending on the severity of the injury. Williams, who went No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft, connected on 15 of 26 for just 138 yards. Johnson said he told his players at halftime that the rainy conditions figured to slow their roll, so they needed to be mentally tough.
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He was spot-on as the low-scoring struggle ended with zero touchdowns.
“Points were going to be few and far between when it’s like that,” Johnson said in his postgame media availability. “And so, you kind of feel that in the first half and sure enough, it came down to the very end there.”
As far as the Williams injury, Johnson said the team will know more on Monday, but the QB—who gave the thumbs-up from the cart as he exited the grounds—made sure to put on a brave face for his teammates.
“Yeah, I just I just saw him a second ago. He’s in good spirits—he’s a team player,” said Johnson, who later said he wasn’t sure what to think about the injury the moment Williams went down.
“Yeah, you could kind of see in real time. I’m actually happy it’s nothing with the knee, that was my first inclination. But the hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. So, we’ll see,” he said.
“We’ll see how bad it is tomorrow, and we’ll go from there. But yeah, it’s quickly you got to turn the page and particularly when you’re right there, we needed points desperately at that point. And uh you know, shame.”
Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears scrambles with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the third quarter of the game at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 20, 2026. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Chicago cornerback Malik Muhammad said: “I’m worried. If 18 gets hurt, I’m worried. The whole stadium was worried, maybe the whole world. But he should be good. I asked him after the game if he’s going to be good. He’s going to be good.”
When asked about Williams’s demeanor, Muhammad said, “C-Dub is always in good spirits.”
Johnson also didn’t blink when asked about backup Bagent taking over as QB1 while Williams is sidelined.
“I called plays for him all preseason, so we’ll be fine,” Johnson shot back.
Bagent, who said he needed to give someone a chance on that final play and not take a sack, didn’t blink when asked about his readiness to step in for Williams.
“Yeah, I feel great. I feel like we have a good, I have a good team around me, good coaching staff. So, ready to roll,” he said, adding that he doesn’t expect much to be different as he preps to be the starter.
“I don’t think anything will change as far as my week goes, other than practice reps going up,” Bagent said. “Just got to continue to stay focused, continue to stay sharp and prepare the best that we can going into each week.”
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze echoed the same sentiment that both his coach and backup QB offered: Bagent has put in enough work to be trusted with the offense and Johnson’s scoring goals.
“Man, Tyson is as ready as it gets,” Odunze said. “He’s the type where he’s ready each and every week for his opportunity to go out there and shine. We’re going to support him, get him as ready as fast as we can get with one another and getting that chemistry down as much as we can for the games that he’s going to be back there.”