With quarterback Caleb Williams back in the swing of things, the Chicago Bears turned around on four days’ rest to host Drake Maye and the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football. The defense grabbed the early headlines, but in the end, the offense got the team to the finish line as they take a 5-2 start into a mini-bye week before heading to Seattle to face the Seahawks in Week 8 on Monday Night Football. It’s been a season of ups and downs, but there’s little debate as to how good this team can be with their starting quarterback under center, no matter the opponent. Before we turn the page on another thrilling and high-scoring victory, let’s dive into our 10 Bears Takes for Week 7 following a 30-24 win at Soldier Field.
1. Thursday night featured two of the league’s best young quarterbacks. One team had to lose, but both impressed for the majority of the night under different circumstances.
Last year was a breakout for both Williams and Maye, but when all was said and done, only one of them finished neck-and-neck in the MVP race and took their team to the Super Bowl. Even so, you’d be hard-pressed to find many Bears fans who would look back at Williams’ 2025 and have much bad to say about it. Sure, there was the completion percentage talk, but that was a moot point when he was leading comebacks like no other quarterback in the league.
2026 got off to a much different start for both quarterbacks. Maye struggled with turnovers and overall poor play over the first three weeks of the season, while Williams was lost for three games at the end of their Week 2 loss to the Vikings at Soldier Field. Since Maye’s early struggles, he has been a completely different quarterback, and despite an early interception on Thursday night, his gifts were on full display. Williams has hit the ground running since returning from his hamstring strain, and has now turned in back-to-back 300-yard performances.
Offense started slow for both teams, but Williams struck first blood with a handful of good drives that led to 10 points. Maye, on the other hand, was struggling to get into a rhythm… Until he wasn’t. Both quarterbacks finished with completion rates over 65%, and both quarterbacks eclipsed the 300-yard mark. Maye’s second-quarter interception was the only turnover from either quarterback, but both 2024 draft classmates were responsible for some big plays down the field.
Despite their differences, they also shared plenty of similarities. Pre-game, it was clear both had developed a strong respect for one another, and some of that was because they came up at the same age, etc. Maye is a great athlete in his own right, and even if he doesn’t share the same slipperiness in the pocket as Williams, his ability to evade the pass rush and make plays downfield was on full display on Thursday night. In addition to another good game in the books for Maye, he was down two starting guards and didn’t let that affect him nearly as much as it would for many other quarterbacks.
Naturally, these two, along with Jayden Daniels and the rest of the six quarterbacks taken over the first 12 picks of the 2024 first round, will be tirelessly compared. That said, it’s hard to imagine either team came away from that game feeling bad about their situations. Both Maye and Williams have established themselves as plus-starters in the league, and both can elevate themselves into the elite category. Thursday night was just another prime example of how comparing two different quarterbacks isn’t always going to be an apples-for-apples situation.
2. Speaking of quarterback play, the start of Williams’ season could not have gone much better through four games.
Despite Williams’ heroics at the end of games and the highlight-reel plays he made last season, the narrative heading into 2026 revolved around his ability to be more accurate and play more in structure. Week 1 was quite the performance, and even if the following week was nothing to write home about before his injury, he still had his team in position to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Since returning from his Grade 2 hamstring injury, Williams has stacked back-to-back 300-yard performances, totaling three passing touchdowns, and most importantly, no interceptions. In addition to those numbers, he has completed 52-of-69 passes, which has been good for a 75.3% completion rate. It’s clear he’s seeing the field well, and although his sack numbers have elevated from a year ago, he’s still evading pressure at a much higher rate than he’s taking bad sacks.
While some– mostly fans from other division rivals– will point out his air yards in Week 6, he’s still making plenty of accurate throws down the field when they are there. On Thursday night, he came up big with multiple throws down the field, but none bigger than his third-down conversion to Rome Odunze backed up at the goal line. Ultimately, it sparked a drive that gave them back a two-score lead in the final two minutes of the game.
As Williams gets healthier, his willingness to take off will return, but even with a more conservative approach, he’ll still escape the pocket and make plays with his legs when needed. All around, he’s playing a much calmer, more in-command brand of football than we saw for most of last season. The growth under head coach Ben Johnson has been remarkable, and it’s not a stretch to say that he’s far from a finished product.
Although the team went 2-1 in his absence, it’s also clear that for this offense (and team) to reach its ceiling, he must be on the field and playing at a high level. Through four starts, it’s easy to say that he’s done that for the majority of the time, even with a monsoon game in Week 2 that dragged down the offensive numbers as a whole. Williams’ ability to extend plays and throw darts down the field is one thing, but progressively taking more of what the defense gives him on a down-to-down basis and his growing control at the line of scrimmage is where we’ve seen him make the biggest strides so far in 2026.
Ultimately, the three games he’s missed will probably be enough to keep him out of serious MVP considerations, but make no mistake about it- Caleb Williams is playing at that high of a level through his first four starts of the season. Even if the defense continues to play the way they have, his ability at quarterback will give them a chance to win, and win big every weekend.
3. The 10-day mini-bye week will be welcome for the Bears, but they must now sift through a few new injuries while potentially getting a few key players back heading into Seattle.
It’s hard not to feel emotional after what looked like a serious knee injury suffered by tight end Cole Kmet. Not only is Kmet one of the team’s longest-tenured players, but he’s also been through the (mainly) lows to enjoy the highs this group has experienced over the last two seasons. Beyond being a great ambassador for the team, he’s a much bigger part of the offense than his numbers might suggest. Although the official prognosis has yet to be announced, there’s an ominous feeling around what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury for the seventh-year tight end.
In addition to Kmet, fourth-round rookie Malik Muhammad suffered a toe injury, and although the severity of that injury is still unknown, it’s worth noting that he did not return after leaving the game. Like most rookies, it’s been an up-and-down seven-game campaign for Muhammad, but there’s been a lot more good than bad so far in the early going, especially when considering how much has been asked of him as a rookie. It was also reported that linebacker Demarco Jackson was seen in a walking boot postgame. Still, a boot doesn’t indicate a serious injury, so we’ll have to wait and see how this impacts Jackson’s availability, if at all.
Outside of that, the Bears appeared to escape their second game in four days relatively healthy, especially compared to a Patriots team that had an injury report longer than most people’s shopping list. Couple that with the potential returns of running back Kyle Monangai and linebacker T.J. Edwards, and Montez Sweat serving his two-game suspension, and there’s some reason for optimism heading into Week 8’s Monday night matchup with the Seahawks.
Getting healthy “at the right time” is somewhat of a fallacy in today’s NFL, but this mini-bye week should serve as a key time to heal up and get ready for the final two games before their true bye in Week 10. Add in a defensive addition or two at the deadline (more on that later), and there’s a world where the Bears can enter the back half of their regular season schedule stronger than most teams. We’ll see what shakes out in the coming days on the status of their two key injuries from Thursday night, but they should be healthier after their 10-day layoff before heading to Seattle. It’s also worth mentioning that as of Friday, the Bears play just three games over the next 30 days thanks to two extended breaks built into the schedule.
4. Despite the defense’s clear flaws, they keep finding ways to get the job done.
By the numbers, this defense is one of the league’s more confounding units. Heading into Thursday night, they were right around league average when it came to defensive DVOA, while averaging giving up less than 20 points per game. The takeaways haven’t come in bunches like they did last year, but they’ve been the second-best team in the league when it comes to getting off the field on third down, just behind the Vikings at 26.1%. Even more impressive is that they’ve given up just two fourth-down conversions on nine attempts.
Simply put, when the defense can keep opposing offenses in less-than-favorable situations on early downs, they’ve been able to get off the field with ease. They also rank 11th in yards allowed per game. All in all, this group has somehow been better than last year’s unit, even if the takeaways aren’t coming.
That said, some clear flaws remain. For starters, their defensive line simply isn’t getting enough pressure, especially from the interior. Kyler Gordon has played less than 50 snaps through two games and is tied with Austin Booker for the team lead with four sacks. This unit currently ranks sixth in the league, giving up just 87.6 yards per game on the ground, but much of that comes from opposing teams playing down far too often to run the ball consistently. Even so, they rank 23rd in the league, giving up a clip of 4.4 yards per carry, which is more indicative of how this unit has fared against the run.
Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense, and for the Bears, that’s absolutely been the case. The offense leads the league in time of possession, so the defense has been on the field far less than any other unit in the league. Maybe that’s sustainable through the life of a 17-game regular season, but at some point, sustainable improvement will need to be made. Cornerback continues to be an issue outside of Muhammad, but a better defensive line could do wonders for this group.
Long story short, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen continues to do an outstanding job with a unit that lacks elite talent. Over time, some of their younger players may develop into difference-makers, but right now much of this group’s success is situational and schematic. We’ll see if general manager Ryan Poles can make a few moves at the deadline to get his defense in a better position to succeed against the league’s elite offenses.
5. Luther Burden’s production on limited snap counts continues to be one of the more impressive aspects of this offense so far this season.
The offense has improved as their quarterback play has, largely due to Williams’ return. That said, this is the second straight season where Johnson and his offensive staff have taken through the first month of the season to sort out their pass catchers and how involved they are every week. Tight end Colston Loveland is slowly but surely ramping up in the production and overall involvement department, but it’s been Burden as of late who has been the focal point of the passing offense.
Burden’s skill set is no secret. He has good speed, runs quality routes, and has reliable hands. His biggest value comes in the open field, especially after the catch. With the ball in his hands, he’s able to consistently force defenders to miss tackles, which leads to plenty of extra yards that might not be seen when he originally catches the ball. Thursday night’s game was no different, and despite no catches in the second half, he still finished with a team-leading four catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
It’s one thing for a receiver to get open, make a catch, and go down. It’s another for a player to get the ball in his hands and make the opposing defense look like a circus act. That’s how all four of Burden’s receptions looked on Thursday night, including a screen on third and 17 that went for a 24-yard touchdown at the end of the second quarter.
On the season, Burden is 35-for-47 in receptions-to-targets for 491 yards and two touchdowns. In an ideal world, he would have another 100-150 yards, but with so much turmoil early at quarterback due to Williams’ injury, the target share has been a little more unpredictable to open up the season. For reference, Burden is playing just under 60% of the team’s offensive snaps, but leads the offense in receptions, yards, and targets, and is tied with Loveland for the team lead in touchdown receptions. Loveland is second on the team in targets with 41, while Odunze rounds out the Top 3 with 39.
Johnson is finding different ways to get his best players involved, but as we saw on Thursday night, sometimes the “featured” pass catcher alternates between halves. When Burden was no longer the focus for the final 30 minutes, Odunze became a much bigger factor, coming up with a handful of big receptions down the stretch.
The talent is there, and although they aren’t keeping the same pace as the duo of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden in Green Bay, the talent level matches. We’ll see if Burden and Loveland follow a similar trajectory to last year when they become the two focuses for the offense over the second half of the season. For now, the organization has to be very happy with where Burden is at, even if his snap count resembles more of a WR3 than a WR1.
6. I’m still not sure what to make of Cairo Santos heading into the halfway point of the season.
On the season, Santos is 11-for-15 on field goals and a perfect 21-of-21 on extra points. That said, his misses have come at points in games where they simply cannot happen. Without his career-long 58-yarder to ultimately seal the game on Thursday night, this conversation might be totally different heading into a 10-day break before Seattle.
In some ways, Santos’ leg strength seems to have improved with age. That said, his accuracy on kicks over 50 yards is not what it should be, especially in the modern-day NFL. Where kickers are routinely automatic from 55-plus, Santos’ calling card is still anything 40 yards and under. While there’s still some value in that, it’s worth wondering what they will look like when the weather turns in the coming weeks. More concerning, at least to me, is that his overall accuracy on most of his field goals has been shoddy at best. Even when he makes it, the ball is moving a lot more than it normally does.
Evaluating kickers (and special teams as a whole is tough, and it involves plenty of nuance. Outside of some early struggles with kicking the ball short of the end zone, he’s been pretty dang good when it comes to keeping it out of the end zone and inside the landing zone, which has in turn limited returns for most of the season. Kicking is an art, and leg strength isn’t everything. Neither are field goals at this point in the game. That said, Santos’ lack of accuracy to start the season is concerning. Although I doubt they force a tryout or make a move heading into Week 8, there’s no way that the confidence can be overly high in Santos’ ability to make key kicks until proven otherwise.
We’ll see where this leads, but typically, right around the time fans start calling for a change at the position, Santos goes on a run. That would be ideal in this situation, but some concerns still need to be addressed moving forward. If not now, they need to consider a better plan for competition during the offseason seriously.
7. For the first time in a few weeks, D’Andre Swift appears to be getting healthier. Couple that with a return of Monangai in Seattle, and we might see the running game get back on track.
After an impressive Week 1 performance in which the Bears’ running back duo put up a combined 224 yards on the ground (291 total), the running game has been much less consistent. Part of that is due to the health of both Swift and Monangai, and part of it is that their interior offensive line, namely Garrett Bradbury, hasn’t been nearly as strong as it was with Drew Dalman last season.
Swift’s yard-per-carry numbers have steadily dropped as the weeks have gone by, and without a consistent presence behind him, it’s been a struggle to establish the run game and then stick with it consistently. To be fair to Roschon Johnson, he’s performed better than most expected, but the drop-off between Monangai and Johnson has been noticeable.
As Williams gets healthier, the threat for him to run the ball should increase, which in turn should help keep teams more honest in the run game. Getting Monangai back will be key to establishing a more consistent rushing attack moving forward, and by all accounts, it sounds like he’s very much in the plans when the team returns to action in Week 8. Before his injury, it sounded like he was going to see closer to a 50-50 split, especially with Swift losing two fumbles in the matter of three games. Monangai’s injury derailed some of those plans, but it’s clear that Swift is playing through some things. Monangai’s return will allow Johnson to give Swift more of a break, and not rely so much on the recently extended running back to take more punishment than needed at the midpoint of the season.
Although Williams has played at a high level, making their passing attack much more potent, this is still a run-first team that is at its best when it can distribute the workload between the run and pass. Getting Monangai back, and having that fire-and-ice type of duo, should help an already high-flying offense take another step forward, especially as the weather continues to get colder and field conditions deteriorate.
8. Key injuries to perceived contenders have a chance to really muddy the NFC playoff picture in the coming weeks– more on a disastrous week for the likes of the Eagles and Rams.
If you were taking stock in preseason divisional predictions for the NFC, both the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams would have been division favorites from almost anyone who put out their season predictions. Yet, there’s a reason why the NFL produces four-to-six new playoff teams each year, and sometimes it’s not just about those new “surprise” teams.
In my estimation, the Eagles haven’t been the same team since the midpoint of last season. It was clear there was plenty of strife behind the scenes, and the hope was that trading receiver A.J. Brown would ultimately settle the discontent in the locker room. Despite their 2-0 start to this season, something still didn’t pass the smell test for me. They were barely beating bad teams, and then came Week 3, when they were thoroughly embarrassed yet again by the Bears on national television. This time, by a third-string quarterback making his first start in multiple seasons. If that wasn’t bad enough, a bad blown fourth-quarter lead to the Rams dropped them to 2-3. Between a few tough losses and mounting injuries, it felt like the Eagles were down but not out, especially in their division. That was until news broke that quarterback Jalen Hurts was out for the year due to blood clots that were found in his lungs.
First and foremost, the health and well-being of any player in the league should be the top priority. By all accounts, Hurts is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery, which is great news. From a football perspective, the Eagles are all but sunk at this point, even in the lowly NFC East, which has four teams that have looked pretty bad. Between the injuries, disappointing play, and overall drop-off a cliff in terms of play, it would take a lot for Philadelphia to jump back in the mix, especially with what they have at quarterback for the remainder of the year.
Moving over to yet another 2-4 team, the overwhelming favorites to win the Super Bowl have gotten off to a slow start. Myles Garrett has played in just one game, but more troubling is that their offense simply hasn’t looked like a Sean McVay-led group. If a slow start were all that was holding this group back, it would be easier to feel like they could get it figured out. Still, after a disastrous loss to the Arizona Cardinals, their season is as much on life support as it can be just six games in. Not only is receiver Davante Adams lost for six-to-10 weeks with a severe hamstring injury, but Poona Ford and kicker Blake Grupe were last for the year. To make matters worse, star defensive tackle Kobie Turner was placed on Injured Reserve and will miss at least the next four games. Add on that Myles Garrett still appears to be a few weeks away following a knee clean-up procedure, and the Rams are going to have to fight like hell to stick in the playoff race while they return to health.
It’s by no means over for the Rams, and luckily for them, their upcoming schedule looks favorable. That said, their loss to the Cardinals in Week 6 shows just how much they’ve struggled to open the season. I tend to believe teams as talented as the Rams will eventually figure things out, but with such a deep playoff picture in the NFC, they’ll need to take advantage of the soft part of their schedule and hope they aren’t completely buried once they start getting their key players back.
The NFL has once again proven (so far) this season that parity reigns supreme in a sport where attrition is a key factor for most teams. While some, like the 49ers, can withstand key injuries, others like the Eagles and potentially the Rams might suffer a less desirable fate, regardless of preseason expectations. It’s also a great reminder that while missing a player like Caleb Williams wasn’t fun for the three games he was out, the Bears were extremely fortunate that his hamstring injury was only that. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, underperforming and injury-riddled teams will lead the charge in shaping how much of a market there will be for contenders to choose from.
9. NFC North Lookaround: The Lions will host the Packers in a pivotal divisional showdown, while the Vikings host a 2-4 Colts team that just fired their general manager.
Sunday will conclude another big week for the division’s early outlook. The Vikings will start things off in the early slot when they host a struggling Colts team that shook things up earlier this week when they fired long-time general manager Chris Ballard. Indianapolis has the talent, but they’re another loss (or two) away from a veteran firesale in early November. For the Vikings, they’ll look to start 6-0 for the first time since 2009. The defense is playing at an elite level, but the offense will need more consistency. On paper, this is a favorable matchup for the Vikings, but when teams shake things up mid-season, it can sometimes create a temporary but noticeable jolt in effort and overall success.
In the late afternoon slot, the game of the week will belong to the Lions and Packers. Both teams have started to right the ship after slow starts, but the Packers come into Sunday on a three-game winning streak and appear to be hitting their stride, despite many roster issues. On paper, this looks like an offensive explosion for both teams, but as we’ve seen many times before, divisional games can be unpredictable. One thing is for certain- the loser of Sunday’s game will fall to last place and have a hole to dig themselves out of. It’s worth noting that despite heading into Week 7, this will be the Lions’ first divisional game of the season as we approach the midway point. The Packers will be playing their third NFC North game, and currently hold a 1-1 record.
With any luck, the Bears will get some help, and the results will produce a 1-2 record from the remainder of the division. Both Detroit and Minnesota will be coming off early bye weeks, and the Lions should be getting back a few injured players who haven’t seen the field yet. The NFC North, as of now, is the best division in football, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has followed these four teams over the last few seasons.
Here are the standings heading into Sunday’s Week 7 action:
(5-0) Minnesota Vikings
(5-2) Chicago Bears
(4-2) Green Bay Packers
(3-2) Detroit Lions
10. Week 8 Look Ahead: A 10-day mini-bye week before heading to Seattle to battle the struggling Seahawks and the 12th man.
The next week-plus will be a much-needed break for the Bears, who will get to sit back and watch a Seahawks team that has lost two in a row try to get back on track. The defending Super Bowl champions have dealt with their fair share of key injuries, but their quarterback play has been an issue since starting quarterback Sam Darnold returned from injury.
On Sunday night, Seattle will host the 5-0 Chiefs, one of the league’s more pleasant surprises so far. Despite the difference in records, the Seahawks are 3-point favorites, mainly because they’re at home in front of the league’s loudest crowd. With the Rams’ recent rash of injuries, they are well positioned to get back on track and put some distance between themselves and third place. Ultimately, that could be the difference in a final Wild Card spot. Considering the 49ers’ hot start, three losses have put them in a deep mid-season hole that they might not be able to climb out of even with 12 games remaining in the regular season.
The big key for the Seahawks moving forward is figuring out the offense. The defense hasn’t played at their expected level, but it’s still an elite group that should keep them in every game. Offensively, they’ve struggled to consistently move the ball and score points, especially since Darnold’s return. It appears that running back Zach Charbonnet will return to action for the first time this season on Sunday, which should help them establish a more consistent running game, especially with Jadarian Price remaining on Injured Reserve. That said, if Darnold continues to turn the ball over at his current rate, they aren’t going to win many games.
On paper, this appears to be a close matchup for the Seahawks and Bears, but as we’ve seen, this is a week-to-week league, and injuries can change the complexion of a team’s season in the blink of an eye. Ideally, the Bears will have Monangai back, to go along with Montez Sweat returning from a two-game suspension. With any luck, they’ll be the healthier team yet again, but only time will tell on that. Either way, this should be a winnable game for both teams, and while Seattle has a decided advantage with any home games, stealing a win to get to 6-2 before heading back home to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a week before their bye would be a huge step in their quest to get back to the playoffs for a second straight year.
The season is still young, and there’s plenty to develop over the next two-plus months, but the Bears have put themselves in a good position moving forward. A win next Monday night only improves that outlook, but no matter the result of Sunday night’s game, the Seahawks won’t be an easy out.