Three takeaways from Chicago Bears’ Week 1 loss

The second-year quarterback started off the game on fire. Williams delivered a perfect opening drive, completing every pass and rushing for the game’s opening touchdown.

Once Williams got into the second half of the game, we started to see some of the same issues he had during his rookie season. The biggest concern was his accuracy. Head coach Ben Johnson’s scheme was able to get many receivers downfield and open, however Williams failed to find them.

Williams missed DJ Moore wide open for a big gain and also overthrew him on a deep ball that should’ve been a clear touchdown. The Bears quarterback was also missing wide open players on simple short passes as well. 

Williams competed 21 passes out of 35 attempts. He threw for 210 yards with both a passing and rushing touchdown. However, he was clearly not good enough to win the game on Monday. Williams needs to get better with his accuracy in order to win games in the NFL.

The offensive line and pre-snap penalties are a major concern

Bears GM Ryan Poles changed the interior offensive line completely during the offseason. Bringing in Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson.

The offensive line started to look a lot better than last season, but started to collapse. The pass-blocking was not great. Right guard Jonah Jackson had a terrible pass blocking grade of 22.6. Both Jackson and Dalman allowed multiple pressures during the game.

The run game was also non existent. D’Andre Swift wasn’t able to get much openings due to the poor run blocking.

Another major issues was penalties. Penalties is what costed the Bears the game. The team had 12 penalties for 127 yards. Terrible and unacceptable.

However, the holding call on Darnell Wright when the Bears were in the redzone should’ve not been called. There was also a questionable pass interference call. But, the presnap penalties were the issue. Multiple false starts throughout the game, that can’t happen.

The Bears’ special team unit costed them multiple times

The special teams unit is a major concern following Mondays game. Kicker Cairo Santos missed a 50 yard field goal during the game in a drive where the Bears really needed the points. Santos has struggled throughout his career from 50 yards or more due to his weak leg.

Santos also was unable to kick the ball through the end zone on the late fourth quarter kickoff, which costed the Bears offense a chance at having time to tie the game. This led to Ben Johnson throwing the kicker under the bus during Monday’s postgame press conference.

In addition, Minnesota blocked a punt from the Bears during the fourth quarter as well. The special teams unit cannot allow these things to happen throughout the season, as it will cost the Bears in a big way.