🚨 BEARS FANS ARE NOT HAPPY — CHICAGO’S PRESEASON LOSS REVEALS A PROBLEM BEN JOHNSON MUST FIX
The Chicago Bears were supposed to be building momentum toward Week 1. Instead, they walked out of Cincinnati with a 27–9 loss, no offensive touchdown, and 11 penalties for 81 yards. The final score may not count in the standings, but one thing absolutely does: Chicago just exposed a problem that Ben Johnson cannot afford to ignore.
And the most concerning part?
This wasn’t just one bad play or one bad quarter. The mistakes came from almost everywhere.
A NIGHT THAT QUICKLY GOT UGLY
The Bears entered Saturday night’s preseason matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with plenty of optimism.
Most of Chicago’s starters were finally seeing preseason action after sitting out the opener against Cleveland. That meant fans were eager to get their first real look at quarterback Caleb Williams, the offense under head coach Ben Johnson, and a defense expected to take another major step forward.
Instead, Chicago struggled to find any rhythm.
The Bears eventually fell 27–9, failing to score a touchdown for the first time under Johnson. The offense managed only three field goals from Cairo Santos, while Cincinnati scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives during the first half.
For a preseason game, the result itself isn’t catastrophic.
But the way Chicago lost is what should concern Bears fans.
THE PENALTIES WERE THE BIGGEST RED FLAG
Chicago committed 11 penalties for 81 yards.
That number immediately stands out.
One week earlier, the Bears had been praised for their discipline after committing only two penalties for 10 yards in their 34–10 preseason victory over Cleveland. Ben Johnson specifically highlighted discipline as one of the team’s strongest points in that game.
Against Cincinnati, that discipline disappeared.
The penalties affected multiple areas of the team, rather than coming from one isolated position group.
Even Caleb Williams admitted afterward that the problem extended throughout the roster.
“There were a lot of penalties out there from first team, second team and third team.”
That is a major warning sign.
If the Bears want to compete for the NFC North, they cannot repeatedly give opponents free yards and extra opportunities.
CALEB WILLIAMS DIDN’T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO FIND HIS RHYTHM
Williams’ preseason debut was brief.
The Bears’ No. 1 offense played only the opening possession, moving 33 yards on eight plays before settling for a 45-yard Cairo Santos field goal.
Williams opened with back-to-back completions.
First, he connected with Rome Odunze for 18 yards.
Then he found Colston Loveland for 10 yards.
But the drive eventually stalled after a holding penalty on left tackle Braxton Jones. Williams then misfired on his final three throws of the possession.
So while the final score may make the offense look terrible, there is an important piece of context.
Williams barely played.
This was not a full evaluation of the Bears’ starting offense.
Still, the opening drive revealed something important.
The margin for error is small.
One penalty was enough to derail an otherwise promising possession.
BEN JOHNSON HAS A DISCIPLINE PROBLEM TO SOLVE
This is where Johnson comes into the spotlight.
As the head coach, Johnson is ultimately responsible for the team’s preparation.
He wants the Bears to play fast.
He wants them to be aggressive.
He wants them to execute with confidence.
But aggression without discipline can become self-inflicted damage.
The Bears don’t need to become conservative.
They need to become cleaner.
Against Cincinnati, Chicago repeatedly gave away opportunities that it didn’t need to give away.
And that is precisely the kind of problem that can turn a competitive team into a frustrating one.
THE OFFENSE WAS NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM
It would be easy to blame everything on the offense.
That would be a mistake.
The defense also struggled.
Cincinnati produced 282 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, while Chicago failed to record a sack. The Bears did manage one takeaway when defensive back Skyler Thomas intercepted Sean Clifford, but it wasn’t enough to change the game.
The Bengals’ quarterbacks repeatedly found opportunities in the passing game.
Veteran Josh Johnson, starting in place of Joe Burrow, completed 7 of 10 passes for 55 yards on Cincinnati’s opening scoring drive. Later, Sean Clifford threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Noah Thomas to extend Cincinnati’s lead in the second half.
That raises another question for Chicago.
Can the defense consistently generate pressure when the regular season begins?
Because if the answer is no, the Bears could be forced into shootouts.
And that’s dangerous.
THE GOOD NEWS: THE RUN DEFENSE HELD UP
There was at least one encouraging defensive statistic.
Chicago limited Cincinnati to just 64 rushing yards.
That suggests the Bears were not completely overwhelmed physically.
The bigger issue was what happened through the air.
The Bengals found enough passing success to control the game, while Chicago struggled to create disruption.
That distinction matters.
If the Bears can maintain strong run defense while improving their pass rush and coverage, the defensive performance could look very different once the starters are playing meaningful snaps.
CALEB WILLIAMS ISN’T PANICKING
Perhaps the most important response came from Williams himself.
Rather than making excuses, the Bears quarterback acknowledged that the team needs to look at the film and correct what went wrong.
Williams also made it clear that losing—even in the preseason—isn’t something the players simply shrug off.
That mentality could be important.
Chicago has enormous expectations entering 2026.
Williams knows that.
Johnson knows that.
The locker room knows that.
The Bears are not trying to treat this season like another rebuilding year.
They expect to compete.
That means even preseason mistakes have to be treated seriously.
ONE BAD GAME DOES NOT ERASE THE PREVIOUS WEEK
There is another reason Bears fans shouldn’t overreact.
Chicago looked completely different in its preseason opener.
The Bears rallied from a 10–0 deficit against Cleveland and scored 34 unanswered points, eventually winning 34–10. They were disciplined, physical and efficient enough to impress Johnson.
That game demonstrated what this roster can look like when everything is working.
Cincinnati demonstrated what happens when it isn’t.
The goal now is to figure out which version is closer to the team Chicago will see in September.
THE 53-MAN ROSTER BATTLE JUST GOT MORE INTERESTING
Another consequence of the loss is that individual players had opportunities to help themselves.
The preseason is not only about winning.
For many players, it is about earning a roster spot.
Every snap matters.
Every missed assignment matters.
Every big play matters.
One of the more encouraging moments for Chicago was Skyler Thomas’ interception.
Rookie Jordan van den Berg also continued to generate attention with his athleticism, giving the coaching staff another intriguing evaluation as roster decisions approach.
For players fighting for their NFL careers, these games are anything but meaningless.
THE REAL TEST COMES NEXT
The Bears have one preseason game remaining.
They will face the Tennessee Titans next Saturday night in Nashville.
That game will give Johnson another opportunity to evaluate his roster before the regular season begins.
But the biggest objective isn’t necessarily winning.
It is cleaning things up.
Fewer penalties.
Better communication.
More consistent protection.
Better execution on third down.
More pressure defensively.
Those are the details that can determine whether a talented team becomes a winning team.
THE BIGGEST QUESTION FOR BEN JOHNSON
Johnson has already demonstrated that he can build an offense capable of producing explosive plays.
Chicago scored 34 points against Cleveland.
Williams has looked impressive during training camp.
The Bears have young playmakers such as Odunze and Loveland.
There is legitimate talent on this roster.
But talent alone doesn’t win NFL games.
Execution does.
And Saturday night was a reminder that Chicago still has work to do.
The Bears converted only 2 of 14 third-down attempts, another indication that the offense struggled to stay on schedule.
That is the kind of number Johnson will want to see change immediately.
BEARS FANS SHOULD BE CONCERNED — BUT NOT PANICKING
The 27–9 loss was ugly.
There is no reason to pretend otherwise.
The Bears committed too many penalties.
The offense failed to score a touchdown.
The defense struggled to pressure the quarterback.
Third-down execution was poor.
And Chicago looked nothing like the team that dominated Cleveland one week earlier.
But this is still preseason.
Williams played only one series.
Many starters were removed early.
And the Bears still have time to correct the problems before the regular season opener against Carolina on September 13.
That is why this game should be viewed as a warning rather than a disaster.
THE VERDICT
The Chicago Bears don’t have a talent problem.
They may have a discipline and consistency problem.
And that is exactly what Ben Johnson must fix.
The Bears can survive a bad preseason performance.
They can survive a 27–9 loss.
They can even survive a few missed opportunities.
What they cannot afford is to carry the same mistakes into the regular season.
Because once Week 1 arrives, there will be no preseason excuse.
There will be no “it’s just an evaluation.”
There will be no opportunity to simply move on.
Every penalty will matter.
Every third down will matter.
Every missed assignment will matter.
And every mistake will be reflected on the scoreboard.
The encouraging news is that Chicago has time.
Caleb Williams believes the offense can be ready when September arrives, and Johnson now has one final preseason game to demand better execution from his team.
The Bears don’t need to panic.
But they do need to listen to the warning Cincinnati just gave them.
The talent is there. The expectations are there. Now the discipline has to be there, too.
Because if Chicago wants to make noise in the NFC North in 2026, Ben Johnson may need to fix this problem before it becomes much bigger.
