The opening week for the Chicago Bears‘ 2025 season could not have come with any more frustration and heartbreak as the team collapsed in the fourth quarter in a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was making his first career NFL start against the Bears on Monday night. He looked uncomfortable in the first half, but went off for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead his team to the comeback. Chicago’s loss was headlined by self-inflicted penalties, bad management at the kicker position, and inaccuracy from quarterback Caleb Williams.

While the immediate reaction following the loss has brought plenty of understandable frustration, it’s also brought with it overreactions, as there always is in the NFL world. Here’s a look at three of the biggest overreactions from the Bears’ loss to the Vikings on Monday Night Football.

2025 will be just like 2024

It’s hard not to look at how the Bears performed in Week 1 of the 2025 season and not see similarities to last year’s awfully disappointing season. Undisciplined football, bad coaching decisions, and unreliability from kicker Cairo Santos all sounds like the exact blueprint that cost the Bears 12 losses last season. There are going to be growing pains with Ben Johnson in his first year as a head coach, and the offense will likely take longer to get adjusted to the system he’s trying to install. Until the fourth quarter collapse, the Bears defense appeared strong even without T.J. Edwards, Kyler Gordon, and Jaylon Johnson, but the offense had several pre-snap penalties which shows there are still chinks in the armor that need to be worked out.

Cole Kmet has no real role in the offense

Tight end Cole Kmet saw a significant drop in production in the second half of last season, and with the team drafting Colston Loveland in the first round of this year’s draft, Kmet’s place on the roster came into question. Monday night’s showing did not do much to bring confidence about Kmet’s role in the offense under Ben Johnson, as he had just one reception for 31 yards, a crucial catch that came late in the fourth quarter. However, quarterback Caleb Williams missed Kmet on a fourth down play and the veteran was targeted four times in the game, but in total, the tight ends were not heavily involved in the passing game. Between both Loveland and Kmet, the tight ends were only targeted six times, bringing in three receptions for 43 yards. It’ll take time for everyone to find their footing in this offense, but Kmet shouldn’t be counted out just yet.

The Bears drafted the wrong QB in the 2024 class

Since the Bears made him the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft class, which saw six quarterbacks taken in Round 1, Caleb Williams is 0-3 against his fellow quarterback classmates. Last season, Williams was defeated by Drake Maye of the New England Patriots and Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders, and now J.J. McCarthy has a win over Williams as well. Williams and the Bears have yet to face Michael Penix and the Atlanta Falcons or Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos, and neither are on schedule this season, but a rematch against Daniels and the Commanders is set for Week 6. That may be one of the biggest telling signs for Williams, as the Bears have a bye in Week 5 and will have had four games under their belt with Ben Johnson. Eighteen games is a good sample size for what Williams can and can’t do, but with a new coaching staff and a disastrous rookie season last year, it’ll take more time to evaluate him against the other quarterbacks in his draft class.

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