Now that we're a couple of days removed from the chaos that was Week 9, let's unpack the Chicago Bears' narrow victory a little bit more.
The offensive line took a beating. Caleb Williams looked unlike himself. This Bears team still has some things to work through.
Yes, at 7-2 the Bears lead the NFC North and head to their bye week at the perfect time.
But, this past week brought up a lot of different storylines we should comb through.
Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson take similar approach to 4-interception blowup
We've touched on both of these reactions already, a bit, but it's worth noting again that neither Caleb Williams nor Ben Johnson seemed worried about the quarterback's four interceptions against the Buccaneers.
Caleb Williams, after the game and in reference to the big play to Colston Loveland late in the game, after throwing his four picks:
"I’ll never not throw the ball. I could throw a hundred picks in one game, but if it comes down to it, I’m gonna throw that pass to Colston."
Ben Johnson also called Williams' off night an "aberration," which if you're thinking clearly, you'd have no choice but to agree with.
Williams' critics will absolutely overlook his previous three games where he looked like the best quarterback in football, but at Halas Hall, nobody is panicking.
Bears fans should expect Kyle Monangai back after the bye week
I don't know how many different ways we can say it, but, the Bears need Kyle Monangai back. It makes a lot of sense for the team to hold him out until after the bye week, but the Week 9 game against Tampa was so physical and so nasty that you wonder what it would've looked like had Monangai been out there.
Fortunately, he's on his way. Monangai did practice for the first time, just before the matchup against the Bucs, so he's looking on track to play in Week 11 against the Saints.
Since Monangai's exit, the Bears have gone from being the no. 1 rushing team in the NFL (by a mile) to no. 3 in the league and averaging just 105.0 yards per game over their last four. During the Bears' first five games of the season, they were posting over 173.0 yards per game on the ground.
We all like to talk about the Jeffery Simmons effect on defense. But, the offense is missing that Kyle Monangai effect, and they're soon to have it back.
Rome Odunze continues to be a polarizing, puzzling player in 2026
If you want to be able to take a stat and make it say whatever you want, this is a time where you could absolutely trust Pro Football Focus for only crediting Rome Odunze with two drops on the season.
The fact of the matter is, Bears fans have literally watched Odunze drop three touchdowns. In addition, his second drop in Week 9 against the Bucs could have also been a touchdown had he caught it in stride.
Odunze has been difficult to watch, at times, this season. He's a polarizing player strictly because, coming out of college, he was known for having excellent hands. He was a well-rounded player (and still is) but the drops are, in fact, a problem.
The positive, here, is that Caleb Williams continues to look Odunze's direction. That both solidifies the fact that they have a strong, trusting relationship, and also that Odunze's issue will eventually get corrected. Drops are just one of those things that can come and go with certain players, and the Bears are just trying to live with it right now.
Bears pass rush has completely turned around compared to 2025
The Bears currently rank 4th in sacks with 26 on the year, which paces them to finish with 50 at the end of the season. Last season, they finished with 35.
That is an incredible difference and, even though we want to give Jeffery Simmons a plethora of the credit, let's also make sure we give some props to the guys who were getting it done even before the big trade.
Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, and Dayo Odeyingbo combined for 8.5 sacks prior to the Simmons trade. These three have elevated their play even more since Simmons' arrival, but the moral of this story has been Dennis Allen's ability to come through on a promise we didn't see coming.
Over the offseason, we heard Allen and Ben Johnson speak to the need for better coaching within their current group of pass rushers, all while fans wanted to see the team pursue bigger and better names.
It's safe to say Allen has delivered on that, because the defensive line has been a pleasant surprise for much of this season.
Fumbles might be the one issue keeping the Bears from a Super Bowl run
Let's get this out of the way first and foremost: I do not blame Luther Burden III for fumbling on the play in which he was knocked out cold, late in the fourth quarter against the Bucs. The fumble was a bummer to see, but that wasn't the play that caught my attention against Tampa.
Earlier, D'Andre Swift nearly fumbled again this season, but was ultimately ruled down, by a hair, thanks to the officials' review.
The Bears have now lost eight fumbles this eason, which is twice as many they lost all of 2025.
In short, that's alarming.
Ball security is going to be a top focus for Ben Johnson and his offense during the bye week. There's no other way around it. This is an area that could cost the Bears, big time, down the stretch and in the playoffs.
When it comes to playoff football, we know the team that loses the turnover battle will likely lose the game. And, the Bears' offense has not been nearly as clean as it was a year ago, in terms of taking care of the football.
This is arguably their top area of focus, during the bye week, if you ask me.
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