Good morning, Bears fans!
Did Ben Johnson really think about going for two to make it an even 60 on Sunday? Only his coaching staff knows for sure, but his smirk and response to Jeff Joniak sure make it seem like he did.
Anyone else think they’ll do it this year without needing a conversion?
Headlines
Bears soar in power rankings Every single outlet saw the team rise. Fox Sports has the Bears ranked the highest at No. 2, Bleacher Report moved them up four spots, but only to No. 9 (Bearsszn)
Kyler Murray remains in concussion protocol It remains to be seen if the Vikings QB will be cleared for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field. Carson Wentz would likely get the start if he isn’t. (Fox 9)
Panthers player waived after Bears loss Jimmy Horn Jr. loses his job as the team’s primary kick and punt return after fumbling Tory Taylor’s punt on Sunday. That miscue only led to a field goal, so I’m not sure why Horn is bearing the brunt for the other 56 points. (ESPN)
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Dear PFF: Don’t make Bears fans angry
The first official Bears fan freak out of the 2026 season is in the books.
And man, did Pro Football Focus ever deserve it.
ICYMI, the once-mighty analytical outlet somehow deemed that Caleb Williams was only the 20th best quarterback of Week 1.
Yes, the same Caleb who:
Threw for 269 yards with two touchdowns and no picks.
Ran for 65 yards and two more touchdowns.
Completed 72.4 percent of his passes and had a QBR of 94.9.
Led the Bears offense to a league-high 552 yards and 59 points, the second-most ever scored by an NFL team in Week 1.
All of that, PFF decided, was only worth a grade of 62.5 and a spot 14 behind Carolina’s Bryce Young, the same quarterback he defeated.
The grade generated such an uproar (and cancellations from no less than Kap) that PFF’s managing editor wrote a column defending it.
The TL;DR version: Williams’ throw that was intercepted by Bobby Brown at the goal line (and negated by a Panthers penalty) was a mark his 39 other dropbacks couldn’t cover up.
Yes, really.
While the grade predictably assembled Bears fans in a unified front on social media, it was Nick Wright of Fox Sports who started the charge and then continued it through Tuesday night.
“Just a ****ing guy giving grades,” Wright said.
Pro Football Network collected some of the better emotional clapbacks from Bears fans and there were also some really thoughtful things written about the grade.
Among the best: Mike Luciano of Bear Goggles On maintains that Williams’ style is ungradeable under PFF’s system because the outlet’s system rewards structure and script, not improvisation and ability.
As Luciano argues, both approaches require superior decision-making to succeed, but PFF’s grades only reward one of those paths.
So where do we go from here?
While this mini-drama is sure to be just a footnote in the season, it’s going to be a long time before Bears fans forget the shortcomings of PFF’s model. (Given Williams’ style, this will likely happen again.)
But I think it’s a good reminder that any method of evaluating a football player’s performance is inherently biased by the process of deeming what’s important. Most of us have likely cited a PFF grade in an argument or to confirm our perception of a player. Will we think twice before we do that again? Probably.
As Wright so eloquently put it, all of these systems are just based on a ‘****ing guy giving grades.”
Finally, at the danger of being sucked into the torch-wielding mob myself, I’d suggest the evaluations from Ben Johnson and Williams himself might draw similar conclusions from the process on specific plays as PFF despite the result of the game.
Both men said as much in postgame, noting the performance was far from perfect and that they still had plenty to clean up.
The main difference is that none of those in-house evaluations will end in a list placing Williams behind 19 other quarterbacks. At this point, Williams is only being graded against himself within Halas Hall.
Outside those walls, it’s a much different story. We know what we saw and it wasn’t a quarterback turning in a bottom third performance.
Quotable
“If this is what the offense looks like — and it’s still Week 1, so let’s be measured — then I don’t think the defense has to be anything but average for the Bears to roll the NFC.”
— Charles Robinson in NFL Blue Book
Watch: The rest of the national media hearts Caleb
The latest Bears By 7 Podcast can be found here.
Worth Your Time
• The great Dan Pompei checks in with a visit to Mike Ditka’s home in the Gold Coast. Save a good thought for Da Coach. (The Athletic)
• Another Packer fan meltdown video has hit the timeline. (Twitter)
• Tim Jenkins studies the film to explain why he thinks Caleb Williams looks different this year. (YouTube)
• Everything Nicholas Moreano saw from Dillon Thieneman’s film in his NFL debut on Sunday. (Bears Roundtable)
• NEW: The Bears x lululemon collection has dropped! (Fanatics)
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