Getting Caleb and Kyler back made a difference. Season highs in completion rate and sacks, with the young pass catchers driving more of the offense. Plenty to clean up, plenty to build on. #DaBears are 4–2.

367 passing yards for Jordan Love, the most ever by a Packers QB against the Bears at Lambeau. - Watson: 143 yards, 2 TD - Golden: 123 yards Together: 72.5% of Love’s passing yards. Green Bay relentlessly exploited Chicago’s secondary. The Bears kept getting burned and never found an answer.

Bears 7, Packers 31. 5 turnovers: 3 INTs, 2 lost fumbles. 367 passing yards allowed. Watson TDs of 42 and 53 yards. Chicago entered Lambeau 3-1 with the NFL’s #1 rushing offense and #3 total defense. Yet Green Bay dictated the game. The Bears’ worst loss to GB by margin since 2014. Caleb’s absence matters. But 5 turnovers and a defense repeatedly beaten deep go well beyond the QB situation.

Mike Ditka (1939–2026). A Hall of Fame player. A championship coach. A Chicago icon. A pioneer at TE: the first to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season (1,076 yards, 12 TDs as a rookie in 1961). He returned to Chicago to lead the 15–1 Bears to Super Bowl XX. Beyond football, he spent decades helping others through @heartofmercy and @Gridiron_Greats. There was more to Iron Mike than football. Rest in peace, Coach. 📷 Phil Sandlin / AP

Vic Fangio has 281 reasons to expect the run Monday night. Ben Johnson knows that, and Fangio knows Johnson knows it. That’s where the chess match begins, not ends. RUN MATCHUP Chicago: • 425 yards on 70 carries • 6.1 yards per carry • No. 4 in rushing EPA/attempt Philadelphia: • 254 yards allowed on 55 carries • 4.6 yards allowed per carry • No. 27 in defensive rushing EPA/attempt Film charting also has Chicago using zone concepts on 83% of its runs, with roughly 71% classified as outside zone. Tennessee gained 67 yards on 10 charted outside-zone runs against Philadelphia last week. KEENUM’S THREE WINS VS. FANGIO DEFENSES Team rushing yards: 159, 147, 182 Leading rushers: 95, 111, 146 yards Keenum: • 59/83, 71.1% • 528 yards, 6.4 YPA • 3 TD, 0 INT • 99.9 passer rating The pattern: productive rushing, efficient passing and no interceptions, not Keenum carrying the offense. THE CHESS MATCH Fangio can reinforce the front or rotate a safety down. That helps close outside-zone lanes but creates opportunities behind the adjustment. Johnson exploited that tension in Philadelphia last season: outside-zone action, play fake, 28-yard touchdown to Cole Kmet. The TE counter has produced little so far: • Loveland: team-high 61 routes in CBS charting, but only 5 targets, 1 catch and 3 yards • Kmet: 4 targets, 2 catches, 35 yards and 1 TD; in Week 2, he blocked on 37 plays and ran only 13 routes If Fangio loads the box, Johnson can answer with TE leaks, crossers and selective shots to Odunze or Burden. If Fangio stays light, Chicago can keep feeding Swift and Monangai. Does Johnson attack Philadelphia’s weakness directly, or use Fangio’s expectation of the run against him?

A 56-point scoring collapse is historic. It isn’t predictive. One modern comparable still won a playoff game. The 1973 Falcons later won 7 straight. Chicago has already shown it can score 59 and hold an opponent without a TD. Now the Bears have to put the two together.

UPDATE: testing showed Caleb Williams avoided a major hamstring injury, per @TomPelissero, and the Bears aren’t ruling him out Monday vs. Philadelphia. That makes one question from last night’s deep dive even more relevant: When Caleb returns, does his full mobility return with him? The USC precedent, recent QB examples and NFL hamstring data 👇

Bears fans waking up Monday morning

Encouraging from Mike Florio: he’s been told “there is optimism that it could be as slight as Grade 1” for Caleb’s hamstring injury. That is not a Grade 1 diagnosis, and we’ll need to wait for tomorrow’s MRI for clarity. But it’s a positive early sign.