Biggest takeaways from Chicago Bears’ primetime week 7 win over New England

The Chicago Bears left Soldier Field with a signature win in week 7, beating the defending AFC champion New England Patriots in a 30-24 thriller.

Head coach Ben Johnson and the Bears took care of business and got the job done on Thursday, moving their record to 5-2.

Here’s another round of my biggest takeaways from the Bears’ major victory.

Another week of Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams proving his haters wrong

For the second straight week, the “iceman” had another elite showing. Williams threw for 308 yards, 2 touchdowns, and once again had no turnovers in week 7.

The Bears’ franchise quarterback is the first Bears QB since Jay Cutler in 2014 to throw for over 300 yards in back to back games.

Williams did a great job at hitting the simple throws, and did an even better job at creating magic on third down when needed.

CALEB WILLIAMS LASER ON THIRD AND LONG.

NEvsCHI on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HLNowyCVnN

— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2026

Caleb Williams in his first 2 games back:

52-of-69 (75.4%)
613 passing yards
3 TD, 0 INT

Most passing yards in any 2-game stretch of his career. pic.twitter.com/PsCfRQAhmG

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 23, 2026

Williams proved to the NFL world again that he is an elite quarterback. The talent he has is absolutely special, and it’s only going to get better.

Losing Cole Kmet is a huge blow to the Bears

The most unfortunate news coming out of Thursday’s game is the season ending injury of tight end Cole Kmet.

The veteran went down on a hard low hit to his knee in the second half and ultimately got carted off. On Friday, Ben Johnson confirmed that the tight end would be placed on injured reserve and would be out for the rest of the season.

Kmet is such a major part of this offense. Despite Colston Loveland being the pass catching tight end in the offense, Kmet has been critical in blocking. Particularly, Kmet’s blocking in the run game has been a major key to success for the team.

Ben Johnson on Cole Kmet’s season-ending knee injury:

“He’s one of my favorites for a number of reasons, but, you know, I still remember him at the combine coming out, and how much I love him and that slight interaction that we had there and to be able to be in the same building… pic.twitter.com/ZGh8cF919Q

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) October 23, 2026

Caleb Williams on Cole Kmet’s Injury:

“Cole’s been there for me every step of the way, through the first year, through the second year, and now through this year. I don’t have the words to describe what Cole is to me, what Cole is to this team. I’ll be right there with him… pic.twitter.com/SVdqred2Kn

— Bears on Real (@BearsOnReal) October 23, 2026

Kmet is the longest tenured Bear on the roster and has been a very key leader to the team. Losing him for the rest of the year is a heartbreak for the team and fans. Now it’s time for Sam Roush to hopefully step up…

It’s time for the Bears to move on from Jaylon Johnson

A few seasons ago, cornerback Jaylon Johnson was among one of the very best in the NFL. In 2026, he’s been among one of the very worst.

Simply put, Johnson is not the player he once was. The effort he gave on New England’s long touchdown at the end of the first half was just abysmal. The veteran cornerback didn’t even attempt to make a tackle, and was the biggest reason New England stayed in the game.

Johnson has been heavily slammed on social media by fans and analysts, and rightfully so. It was surprising that the veteran defensive back wasn’t even benched in the second half.

It’s clear that the Bears need to move on. The best option is to acquire a better replacement at the trade deadline and also give Malik Muhammad more opportunities.

Jaylon Johnson not good. #DaBears #Besrs pic.twitter.com/hScojUHwT2

— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 23, 2026

I’m dead serious they should cut Jaylon Johnson at halftime.

Zero effort giving up a TD.

— Michael Gus (@MichaelGus57) October 23, 2026

Jaylon Johnson’s complete lack of even attempting an open field tackle has shown up twice tonight. Cost the Bears a TD there.

That’s the kind of thing that should get a player benched for at least the rest of the game.

— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) October 23, 2026

Cairo Santos and Rome Odunze stepped up when needed the most, redeeming themselves big time

A couple of key role players on the Bears had critical mistakes on Thursday, but then were able to step up and redeem themselves.

Kicker Cairo Santos missed a 53-yard kick in the second half, hitting it off the upright. But then, Santos kicked the best field goal of his career. On fourth and long late in the fourth quarter, Ben Johnson took a huge gamble and let Santos attempt a 58-yarder.

He nailed it down the middle, sealing the game for the Bears. This was not only Santos’ career long field goal, but also the third longest in the history of Soldier Field.

Absolutely clutch from the veteran kicker.

Wide receiver Rome Odunze also had one of his best performances of the season. Despite dropping a touchdown that was ultimately called back for offensive pass interference, Odunze redeemed himself in a big way.

The Bears’ pass catcher made multiple big plays in the fourth quarter, converting a huge gain on third down. He also recovered the onside kick to give the Bears the victory on Thursday.

Odunze finished the game with four catches for 69 yards. Hopefully the Bears’ top wideout can build off of this game moving forward.

The Bears now will get some much needed rest and will not play until November 1st on Monday night football, in another massive primetime matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

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