There was a domino effect that happened just before the Chicago Bears' Week 1 tilt against the Carolina Panthers. And with all of the unbelievable offense we saw from Caleb Williams and company, this particular domino effect isn't as much of a focus -- but it will be.
When safety Xavier Woods was declared inactive, the Bears had to shuffle their secondary around. It was Cam Lewis who stepped in to start in Woods' place.
What we saw from the Bears' secondary, for the most part against Carolina, was an atrocity. It's hard to watch the tape. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson were both horrific. They looked slow. They were constantly behind on plays.
It wasn't good.
However, with another domino effect that could wind up happening, the Bears' secondary might be in a much better spot, and it starts with Woods returning to the starting defense.
Xavier Woods returning to the field is the Bears' first step to improving their secondary
A back injury sidelined Woods in Week 1, but it didn't sound like anything serious. From all accounts, Woods is going to be just fine as the other starting safety next to rookie Dillon Thieneman. His previous starting experience is part of what drew the Bears into signing him when Coby Bryant was lost for the season due to injury.
When Woods is back, that means Lewis could either be relegated to the bench or be tried out in the nickel position, where rookie Malik Muhammad played many of his snaps against the Panthers.
But, getting Woods back is the first step. From there, the potential domino effect could go further than we might think.
Cam Lewis sinking or swimming as the Bears' starting nickel cornerback could swing the pendulum
Again, there are a couple of possibilities when Woods returns. If Dennis Allen wants to roll with the veteran in Kyler Gordon's old starting spot, the nickel, then Lewis could supplant Muhammad there -- for now.
This is kind of a two-part domino effect, but again, let's keep rolling with Lewis at the moment.
In the last three seasons, Lewis has played slot cornerback in four games, total — three of those resulted in double-digit snaps (per PFF). The sample size is small, but here are the results of those four games:
60 coverage snaps
3 receptions allowed on 5 targets
19 yards
0 TD allowed
1 pass breakup
It's an extremely limited sample size, but the fact he has experience in the slot is a positive. And, the production was a positive.
If Lewis starts and is able to play well in the slot, that potentially gives the Bears a decision to make on the outside.
Malik Muhammad taking Tyrique Stevenson's job becomes a major win for the Bears
When Muhammad was on the field in his NFL debut, he looked strong. We did not hear his name called other than the time he picked off Bryce Young with a diving interception just before halftime.
Otherwise, he provided radio silence from the booth -- and that's a good thing from a cornerback.
There were even a few snaps Muhammad had to take outside when Tyrique Stevenson was getting checked out in the blue medical tent.
What happens with Muhammad if Lewis and Woods take over the slot and safety spots, respectively? He played well on Sunday while Stevenson played an abysmal game.
Stevenson has a very good chance of playing elsewhere in 2027 as he's in a contract year, and if that's how he's going to play in a contract year, the Bears should have no problem benching him for Muhammad.
Coming out of Texas, Muhammad primarily played outside. But because of his physical play and versatility shown throughout the summer, Dennis Allen was comfortable with him in the slot as well.
Now, there could be a chance for Muhammad to supplant Stevenson on the outside, which would be a good decision based on what we just witnessed in Carolina.
From there, you would hope that Woods and Lewis are at least serviceable in their respective roles while Muhammad provides better play than Stevenson on the outside.
Who's left?
Jaylon Johnson.
Boy, did Johnson look like a shell of himself in Week 1. At this point, there's not much else fans can do but hope that it was rust, and we'll see improvement as the season really gets going. Johnson is still the Bears' best outside corner until proven otherwise over a larger sample size.
But, if we get to the point where Stevenson is benched and the rest of the secondary kind of settles into their roles, maybe Johnson will too.
It all depends on Cam Lewis starting in the nickel over Muhammad, forcing Dennis Allen to make another tough decision.
Read more: A healthy Kyler Murray is exactly what the Bears should hope for in Week 2
Will we see this unfold? Quite frankly, I hope so.
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