Ben Johnson's offense teased transcendence. It then lost Caleb Williams and slipped vs. Brian Flores' Vikings

There was deafening silence in the locker room as reporters filtered in from the bowels of a soggy Soldier Field, where the Bears dropped their home and NFC North opener Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings 9-3 and, more notably, lost their tantalizing quarterback, Caleb Wiliams, to a scary hamstring injury .

Murmurs of questions began to push against the stillness that enveloped the room. Five-time All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney , a 6-foot-5, 301-pound giant who was named NFL Protector of the Year in 2025, kept gently and somewhat helplessly returning to the same refrain.

Hope is all the Bears could do after their on-field maestro stumbled and then tumbled while awkwardly sliding to a stop well short of a potential go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter of a divisional slugfest.