Bears' offensive hiccups persist, but Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland finish strong Sunday

New York Times

a day ago

CHICAGO — While practicing in front of more than 23,000 fans at Soldier Field on Sunday, the Chicago Bears allowed for a decades-old punchline.
The defense had the upper hand. The offense still has work to do.
'Sloppier than we were hoping we would be at this point,' head coach Ben Johnson said. 'We had a couple really good practices over the last two, and then took us a little while to get going and hear the pads clicking. I thought toward the end we picked it up and it got pretty competitive there.'
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The first-team offense struggled to move the ball on the opening drives of practice. The play clock continues to be a challenge, with multiple delay-of-game penalties on the afternoon.
'It's something we're going to have to address for sure,' Johnson said. 'It showed up more today than it has in practice. This was more like a real game, and if it continues like that, we're not going to win many games.'
Tight end Cole Kmet chalked it up to some 'nervous energy' maybe for some of the new players, practicing in front of fans at Soldier Field.
'I thought the (starting) offense, we really started off slow there in our first rack, but I thought we picked it up along the way,' he said. 'Had some hiccups here and there, but definitely a lot more things that we need to clean up and be better with. I think all in all, today, some of it was maybe the nervous energy going around.'
Here are some news, notes and observations from the padded, nearly two-and-a-half-hour practice on a beautiful day by the lake.
The first-team offense got the ball at the opponent's 25-yard line against the second-team defense. On the first snap, we saw some window dressing — pre-snap motion, a play fake, and then Caleb Williams looking to his left to Kmet.
No defender was in his vicinity. The closest player was running back Kyle Monangai.
Kmet caught the pass and went to the end zone for a touchdown.
Ben Johnson casually cooking up a misdirection TD to Cole Kmet from Caleb Williams….2 guys are wideeeee open.
Gonna be a fun season in Chicago 🐻 pic.twitter.com/NXLLP44lH2
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 3, 2025
'It was good execution by those guys and I think Caleb had a little pressure in his face, and he was able to still get it over the top and out of there,' Johnson said. 'Well done.'
There's an expectation that we'll get to see clever play designs with Johnson running the show, and that's certainly been the most successfully executed one of camp. Of course, there are probably many that we haven't seen yet, either.
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'That's a cool play,' Kmet said. 'One of the many designs and plays that Ben has up his sleeve that I think will be a lot of fun to run variations of this year.'
Johnson had the ball at the 1-yard line for the offense to practice a backs-against-the-wall situation.
And it didn't go well for the starters. Williams, out of the shotgun, handed to D'Andre Swift. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter stuffed Swift in the end zone for a safety.
'Our goal on offense is to get two first downs,' Johnson said. 'A safety is inexcusable.'
After the play, Johnson spoke to Williams as the backups came on the field for their reps.
'Execution of the play wasn't what we wanted it to be,' Johnson said. 'It's a credit to the defense — they came out and they kicked the offense's rear in that. So that's what showed up to me — they wanted it a little bit more.'
Johnson has not shied away or made excuses for the offense's struggles. He was clearly irked by that safety.
When the offense has its issues, the other side of the coin is that defensive players are making an impact.
Montez Sweat had a sack against the second-team offense. He was not fooled on an end-around to wide receiver Luther Burden and notched a tackle for loss. Fellow defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo notched a sack on fourth-and-goal.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was stout in coverage, breaking up a pass to Colston Loveland.
Grady Jarrett almost tackled the football at the handoff point when he burst through the line during a move-the-ball drill early in practice. Safety Jaquan Brisker shed center Doug Kramer to make a stop on a screen pass. He also deflected a Williams pass on third-and-goal.
'(Brisker) is constant energy at all times,' linebacker T.J. Edwards said. 'Practice is at 8.30 in the morning, so he's already out there at 8 a.m. Screaming and getting ready and doing all that, which you need. You need a guy like that. And obviously, in terms of physicality and what he brings, he's a great back-end force in that way.'
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The offense had 51 seconds left from the opposing 49-yard line with one timeout at the end of practice. Williams opened it with a swing pass to Swift, who had no defender near him and went for 16 yards.
A blitz forced a throwaway on first down, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen dialed up a pressure again on second down. This time, Williams got it to Olamide Zaccheaus, running right to left in space, and he went for 26 yards.
The operation failed the Bears on first-and-goal, having to call a timeout as the play clock ran down. Following a Nahshon Wright pass breakup, Williams then hit Loveland for a touchdown. The rookie ran a nice route to get Brisker off balance, and Williams got him the ball before Edwards could close on it.
Three Bears were added to the injury list on Sunday. Running back Deion Hankins (concussion), tight end Jordan Murray (groin) and wide receiver Miles Boykin (ankle) did not practice.
Offensive linemen Kiran Amegadjie, Bill Murray and Ricky Stromberg remained sidelined. Jonah Jackson seemed limited as he works his way back from a leg injury. Ryan Bates got some reps with the starters.
Rookie Ozzy Trapilo got the first reps at left tackle, followed by Braxton Jones. Trapilo handled the blind side for the two-minute drill.
The longest play of the day came on a strike from quarterback Tyson Bagent to undrafted rookie receiver JP Richardson over the middle.
Richardson made the catch and then went the distance for the touchdown. It's one of several highlights for the former TCU wideout this summer.
The Bears ran a situational drill where the offense had a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Bagent sold the play fake so well that when he rolled to his right, there was no defender in front of him. He connected with tight end Durham Smythe for the touchdown.