A great unknown: Bears are intriguing, scary after 3 weeks

Seven years ago, a promising Bears team went into Week 4 with a bye week looming.

Matt Nagy’s bunch was 2-1 entering a home game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and you might remember what happened next. Mitch Trubisky threw for 354 yards and six touchdowns and the Bears won 48-10. A picture of Trubisky from that game is on the cover of the pamphlet: “Best Bears QB Performances Since 1950.”

Back in Week 4, 2018, everything was possible.

Now, in 2025, anything is possible as the 1-2 Bears prepare for a game with the Raiders in Las Vegas with a bye week on the horizon. Not everything, but anything.

Another dominant offensive performance? Sure, why not? Caleb Williams, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, gets sacked a bunch of times behind a weakened O-line? Yeah, that’s possible too.

Tyrique Stevenson leads a short-handed defense that has another multi-takeaway game? Maybe. The defense gets a de-pantsing at the hands of Pete Carroll and Geno Smith? Yeah, I could see it.

I’ve been covering the Bears for 16 years and I can’t say I’ve always been excited to watch this team play. But right now, I’m intrigued. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen next. And even if we’re being cynical, there’s a lot to look forward to, especially on offense with Ben Johnson and Williams figuring each other out.

It’s part of the beauty of this job, showing up and seeing something you didn’t expect. I mean, who thought we’d see so much Luther Burden III last week?

With the unknown in mind, I wouldn’t call this a must-win game. I have no expectations that the Bears will make the playoffs. There are too many variables at play and most of them are not in favor of Chicago.

However, I am tempted to call this a “Real ID game,” meaning it could reveal something about this team’s true identity.

Are the Bears the team that started 0-2, or are they the one that beat up on a bad Cowboys team? After an upsetting second half in the opener, Williams has progressed in each of the past two weeks, which, as anybody knows, is the most important factor in the early part of the season. Against a woeful Dallas defense, Williams made plays and worked quickly. He keeps inching closer to Johnson’s goal of a 70% completion rate.

“I see him playing the game with his feet, much more so than what we had in the spring or during training camp,” Johnson said. “He’s trying to tie in number one in the progression with the first hitch, number two with the second hitch.”

Those are the little details that make a talented quarterback a successful one. Of course, it helps when you barely get rushed. Last week was Williams’ first sack-free game as a college pro or an NFL one. As it turns out, a quarterback with time has an advantage.

The Raiders have seven sacks through three games, two of them by star pass rusher Maxx Crosby. Given that Bears right tackle Darnell Wright hasn’t practiced all week with an elbow injury, backup Theo Benedet is in line to face Crosby on Sunday. Tight ends Cole Kmet and Durham Smythe will have to help, as will the running backs.

Can the Bears’ offensive line hold up? Or will that be the unit everyone is talking about Monday?

“The line played good enough for us to get it done (Sunday),” Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said Thursday. “I think every aspect of our offense, we need to continue to grow. That includes the line. … I do think we left some yards on the table in the run game. That’s an area that is a point of emphasis to go make more. I think that’s the O-line, that’s the running backs, that’s blocking on the perimeter. We all can improve there.”

The Raiders offensive line hasn’t done much to spring rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who would have looked great in a Bears uniform. Vegas got him at No. 6, four picks before the Bears took tight end Colston Loveland, who will likely miss this game with a hip injury, but neither rookie is off to a hot start. Could this be Jeanty’s coming-out game against a defense allowing 139.3 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry?

On defense, the Bears will likely be missing tackle Grady Jarrett, linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback Kyler Gordon, none of whom have practiced this week. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson is headed for surgery and is on injured reserve. Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s group caused four takeaways last Sunday, including three interceptions in a row to ice the game.

Can Smith learn from Dak Prescott’s bad day? Or will the Bears have some more tricks up their sleeves?

“Geno’s played a lot of football,” Allen said Thursday. “He’s been in a lot of different systems. He’s seen a lot of different things. And I think he’s playing at a high level. And so certainly, if you just line up in one thing every time, and he knows exactly what you’re doing, you’re creating some tough matchups for yourself. And so, yeah, you’ve got to be able to do some things … to make him have to figure some things out on the run.”

Williams doesn’t have that experience yet. He’s won two games away from Soldier Field, a “home” game in London and last season’s finale in Green Bay. Every game is a new adventure for him. And that, more than anything, makes these games something to look forward to.

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