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00:00ESPN welcomes you to the
00:05following presentation of the
00:07National Football League and
00:12now welcome to NFL kickoff
00:14presented by YouTube TV Chicago
00:17won the toss they defer Vikings
00:19will receive and we get set for
00:21football on a Monday night the
00:23reigning coach of the year year
00:24number four for Kevin O'Connell
00:27getting his young quarterback
00:28ready to go and Ben Johnson 39
00:33years old on the other sideline
00:35his first game as an NFL head
00:37coach going to be fun as Santos
00:39kicks it away and Ty Chandler
00:42returns got hit before the 20 and
00:46is able to get it out to the 25
00:48which is where McCarthy and
00:50company will set up well the big
00:54unknown is JJ McCarthy he was
00:57tremendous at Michigan he won a
00:59national championship the 10th
01:01overall pick last year Vikings
01:04traded up to get him didn't play
01:06last year tore his right meniscus
01:09during the preseason and here we
01:10go a chance now to see what Kevin
01:13O'Connell has for this first play
01:15whether they're going to try to
01:16maybe roll him out get him an
01:18easy completion early in this game
01:20play clock expiring they get it
01:33away and a toss to Aaron Jones
01:35right side not much written out by
01:38Tyreek Stevenson after a gain of
01:41just one we look at the lineups
01:44first we'll start with Minnesota
01:47and what they bring on a Monday
01:49night Aaron Jones is their lead
01:52back Justin Jefferson arguably the
01:54best in the game Jamar Chase says
01:56and not so fast announcer guy and
01:59Justin school gets the start at
02:02left tackle Christian
02:04Derriss on not ready
02:06McCarthy changing things at the
02:12line play clock under five play
02:17action first throw easy throw
02:20Oliver the tight end broke a
02:22tackle third and short coming up
02:27the Bears are playing
02:29shorthanded on defense they are
02:32out their top corner and one of the
02:33best in the game and Jalen
02:35Johnson out with a bad groin not
02:37able to answer the call Tyler
02:39Gordon and TJ Edwards dealing with
02:42bad hamstrings third down and
02:47two McCarthy is down
03:02and a sack by the Chicago defense a
03:08loss of one as Jervon Dexter is the
03:11one who brought McCarthy to the
03:13grass you see they come up they
03:14show mug linebackers as though they
03:16might bring pressure they only rush
03:18for and they're able to get home
03:19that's a question mark coming into
03:21this season as to whether or not
03:22the Bears are going to be able to
03:24pressure the quarterback they force
03:26the three and out and Dennis Allen
03:28and his defensive group off to a
03:30good start tonight Dexter made big
03:33strides last year they're looking
03:34for more in year three and he
03:36comes up with a sack on the first
03:38series of the game the punt by
03:41Ryan Wright Devin Duvernay a
03:45bubble the return and a nice one
03:50at that after the thirty nine and a
03:54twenty three yard return for the
03:56first of the year for Devin
03:58Duvernay after a fifty two yard
04:01punt and now the question is will
04:04the ball come out on time for
04:05Caleb Williams last year he
04:07suffered sixty eight sacks tied
04:10for the third most in the Super
04:12Bowl era well there's no doubt
04:13that it has to last year a number
04:15of those sacks were with Caleb
04:18Williams holding the ball for well
04:19over five seconds so some of the
04:21things that he got away with in
04:22college he realized last year at
04:24this level it doesn't work quick
04:34set up pulls it down looking for
04:36swift out of the backfield nice
04:38spinning catch and he's forced
04:41out by pace after a gain of three
04:45well both teams went into the
04:46offseason and said we need to get
04:48better on the offensive line you
04:51see the skill positions and in
04:53the middle Troy they bring in a
04:54new center and two new guards
04:57no that was the area of this
04:58football team where they just had
05:00to solidify some things they did
05:01as we said sixty eight sacks a
05:04season ago some of that a lot of
05:05that on the quarterback but that
05:07offensive line is not immune
05:08either play action pressure with
05:11Bernard coming off the edge and
05:13now here's Swift on the other
05:15side nice pass floated for the
05:18catch the run the first down that
05:21was not easy but Caleb Williams
05:25threw a strike floating it across
05:26the field for eight yards well the
05:28pressure comes here and as you see
05:30Caleb Williams come off the play
05:31fake he's going to set up and try
05:33to throw one of those
05:34intermediate passes and just was
05:37unable the timing was thrown off
05:39and he had to come off it then
05:40immediately to DeAndre Swift that's
05:42twice now on those passes by Caleb
05:45Williams he's been able to get
05:46through the progression on the
05:47first one on the second one with
05:49pressure was able to find his
05:50outlet receiver
05:51now a toss to Swift had some room in
05:57front of him and what did his head
05:59coach Ben Johnson tell him
06:01completions completions completions
06:04and he's got a couple already yeah
06:06that's right and oftentimes when you
06:09know as a quarterback you're you're
06:10bypassing some of the easier throws
06:13looking for bigger plays and I think
06:14that at times that's what got Caleb
06:17Williams into some trouble so take
06:19the easy completions get the ball out
06:22don't worry about being perfect on
06:24each and every play
06:24the rookie Kyle Manunga in the backfield
06:37for the Bears good protection and over
06:40the middle passes caught by Manunga and
06:42he's got a first down to the 35 a gain
06:46of 11
06:46well Ben Johnson he's trying to give
06:54him a chance for a big throw down the
06:56field he's got Odunze based on the
06:59rotation of the safeties they drop in
07:01to take away that inside breaking
07:02route he doesn't see Odunze on the
07:05post and once they take away the
07:07inside breaking route he comes right
07:09down as he should to his back quick
07:11snap Williams able to complete over the
07:15middle good throw tight coverage a
07:17gain of six as he got it to DJ
07:19Moore his most veteran receiver on
07:23the outside and Blake Cashman was
07:24all over him well and we can't talk
07:26enough about the fact that you come
07:28in with a new offense there's a
07:30certain style that you want to
07:32play that Chicago does and then
07:35you're going up against the Brian
07:36Flores coach defense that gives you
07:38a lot of different looks and they
07:40can make life hard on a young
07:42quarterback and an offense just
07:44trying to find their footing here is
07:50swift and a good play by Grenard as
07:52he got through a loss of one and so
07:56third and medium coming up for Caleb
07:58Williams and company pretty good
08:01first possession they have going here
08:03as they have it at the Minnesota 30
08:05yeah these defensive ends edge
08:07rushers for Minnesota they bring them
08:09in last year Jonathan Grenard who made
08:11the play there comes in last year
08:13along with Andrew Van Ginkle and
08:14that's as good a tandem as there is
08:17in all the football and then they
08:18upgraded the interior pass rush as
08:21well bringing in Jonathan Allen and
08:22Javon Hargrave so a defense that
08:25was really good a year ago got better
08:27this offseason
08:28play clock was expiring and Caleb
08:36Williams saw it and called timeout
08:38first timeout said.
08:44Well Williams has started four four
08:45four under Ben Johnson talked about
08:51how the Bears like the Vikings
08:53redid their interior offensive line
08:56this is how they stacked up week
08:58one last year against the Titans
09:01Caleb suffered 68 sacks, and so they have rearranged the middle three with Drew Dahlman, brought in from Atlanta.
09:08Tooney, who's a four-time Super Bowl champion guard.
09:12He's a start for the Patriots and the Chiefs.
09:15And Jonah Jackson, who was with Ben Johnson, with the Lions back in 21, and then went to the Rams,
09:22is now back with Ben Johnson, this time in a Bears uniform.
09:26Well, and very easily could have had a new starting left tackle as well.
09:29I'm not so sure when they drafted Ozzie Capillo out of Boston College that the intention wasn't for him to be the starter and left tackle.
09:37On third down, Williams has to get out.
09:40Looking downfield, and Odunze!
09:44He caught it, first down, Chicago.
09:50What a throw, what a catch by Roma Odunze.
09:53It really was, and Odunze does an excellent job.
09:56Yeah, it didn't look like he was going to be able to create any type of separation once Caleb Williams got outside the pocket, but he did.
10:0517-yard gain.
10:06Now it's Zaccheaus just tripped up.
10:09As he was thinking about a touchdown, as that play was made by Jeff Okuda.
10:13Back to that throw and catch.
10:15Yeah, it didn't look like there was much there at all.
10:17And Caleb Williams just kept his eyes down the field and saw that finally Odunze was able to create a little bit of separation because initially there were two guys on him up the field.
10:28And a good job by the second-year player coming down with the football.
10:32Second down and three here.
10:35Ball inside the 10.
10:36And now timeout Vikings.
10:48Crowd likes it.
10:51I think they're impressed with what they see here.
10:55About one 100,000th into the season.
10:59Last season, the Bears' offense, and things are very different now.
11:08One of three teams that did not have an opening drive touchdown as they face a second down at three.
11:15And I see my partner to my right shaking his head.
11:18Well, just because it hasn't been easy, you know, this drive has not been methodical.
11:23It really has been Caleb Williams being able to, one, get through those progressions, find the open receiver, took the check down.
11:32He missed the home run shot, Joe Odunze, but he keeps that drive alive by getting outside the pocket.
11:37So a lot of good things here by Caleb Williams on this opening drive.
11:42Second and three.
11:43It's swift.
11:44And a nice play is made.
11:46Getting through and making that stop was Levi Drake Rodriguez and a loss of three to bring up third down.
11:53Yeah, just not much movement whatsoever.
11:55But you see Caleb Williams then under center.
11:58And a lot of what the Bears are going to do is going to come off of that look.
12:03With the play action, they get the running game going.
12:06But as we said coming into this game, Joe, Minnesota was very tough to run the football against a year ago.
12:13So as much as you'd like to be able to, that's going to be a real challenge throughout this evening.
12:18Third down and six.
12:24Williams, a lot of room, looking for the end zone.
12:28He is in.
12:32Touchdown.
12:33Did not have a rushing touchdown last season, his rookie year, and he takes it in.
12:54And he can't do much better.
12:56Caleb, six for six, 51 yards, found five different receivers on that possession, and then a nine-yard touchdown run.
13:04We heard Caleb Williams tell Loris, Lisa Salters, before the game, when it's time to be Superman, go be Superman.
13:11Well, it was time on that last play, and he was.
13:14Seven's it.
13:15And the faithful here at Soldier Field, happy to see the calendar has turned.
13:22It's 2025.
13:23It's Caleb Williams in year number two.
13:27Good drive.
13:27First point, 7-0 Chicago.
13:30We welcome you back to Chicago, a 7-0 lead for the Bears.
13:46And Caleb Williams did a little bit of everything.
13:50His best throw is to Rome Odunze on the run, and then took it in from nine yards out.
13:56Now Kevin O'Connell and his young quarterback playing from behind.
14:00Well, as much as he'd like to, as much as he'd like to see a young quarterback play within the structure of the offense,
14:07you know, those two big third downs, the big catch by Odunze with him out of the pocket,
14:12and then, of course, the scramble for the touchdown.
14:15Here's Miles Price, a rookie from Indiana, got hit hard after getting across the 20.
14:22And that play was made by Daniel Hardy as he electrifies the crowd, a 23-yard return by Miles Price.
14:34Seeing a lot more returns in the opening weekend than we even saw last year with the new rules in place.
14:40That's a big-time hit.
14:41The fact he even held on to the football was impressive.
14:45All right, second possession for McCarthy.
14:48A little shoulder fake, and Jefferson, they get the ball in his hands behind the line of scrimmage,
15:04and he turns that into a positive play as Bayer knocks him down after a gain of four.
15:09You've got a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, two-time All-Pro, had over 1,500 yards a year ago.
15:15And he is the only player in NFL history with 7,000-plus receiving yards over his first five seasons.
15:24Be a good idea to look for number 18.
15:26Yeah, the only thing that could slow him down is his hamstrings,
15:29which he was battling through in the training camp this summer.
15:37That was behind the line of scrimmage.
15:39They're calling that a rush.
15:41Well played by this Bears defense as Aaron Jones is swallowed up by the new players.
15:45The Bears, Grady Jarrett.
15:47Let's send it to Lisa with more on Justin Jefferson.
15:50Yeah, Joe, Justin told me he actually went into camp with his left hamstring feeling not right.
15:54There was some tightness, some soreness.
15:56So because of what happened in the 2023 season when he missed seven games because of a right hamstring strain,
16:02he immediately told this training staff, and they shut him down.
16:05He says both hamstrings feel good now.
16:07He's starting this season with zero limitations.
16:09Yeah, at least it'll be an ongoing maintenance issue.
16:13Now third down and four.
16:18McCarthy.
16:20Time runs out and down he goes.
16:24Just tripped up.
16:26And it'll go down as a sack.
16:31Pressure by Dayo Odengbo, who was brought in by the front office to beef up the pass rush for Chicago.
16:39Well, as J.J. McCarthy gets this football, he's trying to get the ball out to Justin Jefferson,
16:44but he stumbles coming off the line of scrimmage.
16:47And again, with the four-man rush from the Chicago Bears, talking with Dennis Allen,
16:52he said he wasn't real sure what to expect of his pass rush.
16:55If they couldn't get there with four, they'd start bringing more.
16:58So far, he hasn't had a need to do that.
17:01Duvernay from inside the 20.
17:06To the 25.
17:08Seven-yard return.
17:09Bears defense, good start for Dennis Allen.
17:12Two sacks, two three and outs.
17:14Second possession for Caleb and the Bears offense coming up, leading by seven.
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17:39The 85 Bears are going to honor them at halftime, the 40-year anniversary of that great team.
17:47Revolutionary 46 defense.
17:50Held opponents to 198 total points for the season.
17:55And they sped up the game for quarterbacks, people like you, under the great buddy Ryan.
18:01It was quite a bunch.
18:03I ran into him, a former teammate of mine, Dennis McKinnon, who was a part of that 85 club that later came and joined us in Dallas.
18:11Great to see so many of these guys, including Jim McMahon.
18:16Good start for Caleb Williams.
18:18Protection is good.
18:20Swift out of the backfield.
18:21Van Ginkle brings him down right at the line of scrimmage.
18:25Good play.
18:27By Andrew Van Ginkle.
18:28Well, I've seen some opportunities for Caleb down the field, but he's doing the right thing instead of trying to do too much if he's a little.
18:37And that's what happens when you've got a defensive coordinator who's giving you different looks.
18:41It's hard to kind of get settled in early in a ball game.
18:44And yet, when he hasn't seen the look down the field, he's really done a nice job of getting the ball out of his hands.
18:51Now, Brian Flores has elected to play a lot of zone and has yet to bring a blitz.
19:00On second down, pressure.
19:03Williams dances through.
19:06First down, Chicago.
19:09Reminding everybody how good he can be with his legs.
19:13A 13-yard carry for the first down.
19:15Yeah, again, a four-man rush by Minnesota.
19:19And Caleb starts to try to escape the pocket, feels the opening right in front of him, and takes it.
19:25And you can only imagine, you know, what's going through Caleb's mind.
19:30Because early in a game, when you're playing against a defense that can really rush the passer,
19:35now they're playing on grass, so it's not like if they were playing on turf.
19:39But still, the speed of the game is really fast in the opening quarter against great rushers.
19:46Handoff here is to D.J. Moore.
19:49And we will see some of this during the course of the season.
19:51He was in the backfield a lot during camp.
19:54A gain of five, second down coming up.
19:59Well, last year there was some discussion about, you know, like Amon Ross, St. Brown.
20:04But even he, when he lined up in the backfield, he didn't do it a whole lot.
20:09About 15 times during the season, and even with D.J. Moore getting some work in training camp,
20:16I can't imagine they're going to major in a lot of that,
20:19even though the running back position got pretty beat up
20:22with some injuries in camp coming into this year.
20:27They're going to give the five yards right.
20:29Back with Darnell Wright.
20:32Ball start, number 58 offense.
20:35Five-yard penalty, second down.
20:36That's Alan Eck, our referee tonight.
20:40So, back to second down and 10.
20:42Yeah, this was an area last year where the Bears really struggled.
20:45And, in fact, it was a point of contention by Ben Johnson in preseason,
20:50the pre-snap penalties.
20:52And he's not going to tolerate that.
20:55You've got to expect big improvements this year.
20:58Good protection again.
21:07Time runs out.
21:08That's the rookie, Loveland.
21:10And the former Michigan Wolverine in the 10th pick in this past draft gets eight,
21:15third and short.
21:18So, they're trying to work this side here.
21:20D.J. Moore is going to go to the corner,
21:22and they get the too-high look with the safety.
21:24So, that's the hole in that zone, and he just doesn't quite turn it loose.
21:29So, Caleb's done a lot of really great things.
21:31But there's been opportunity for some bigger plays if he gets a good pre-snap read
21:37and knows exactly where the design of the play has taken him.
21:41Quick throw is low and away.
21:44Adunze makes the catch, but he is tackled immediately by Isaiah Rogers.
21:48It's fourth down.
21:49Trying to get it to Romo.
21:53Adunze out on the edge.
21:54A loss of four in the play, and here comes a punt.
21:56Yeah, and so much of this offense is about ball placement.
22:00Detroit, last year, led the NFL in yards after catch.
22:05And it wasn't that they were throwing the ball down the field really all that much.
22:09They were not a real big, deep-throwing football team.
22:12But with Jared Goff and his accuracy, completing over 70% of his passes,
22:17was able to hit guys in stride and didn't let them run.
22:19And, you know, that was an example of not being able to do that.
22:24Tori Taylor hits it.
22:26Price stays away.
22:30And the third possession coming up for the Vikings.
22:34Who trailed by seven.
22:35Make sure a fight doesn't break out.
22:43And here comes McCarthy.
22:46Playing in his hometown of Chicago.
22:53J.J. McCarthy and the offense for the Vikings back to work.
22:56He's thrown only one time.
22:58One for one for five yards through two possessions.
23:01Got to give him a little bit of grace to settle into this game.
23:06They've gone three and out each time they've had it.
23:12He's got a lot of intangibles.
23:14He's only 22 years old.
23:16He's been described as an old soul.
23:19Kevin O'Connell has been described as a quarterback whisperer.
23:22What did he whisper to him after the second possession?
23:26Going to start with a toss to Jordan Mason and the former 49er.
23:2949er with a nice gain on first down of six.
23:34The guy we hadn't talked to, talked about yet is Adam Phelan.
23:37Who they just made a trade for with Carolina to bring him in to make up for Jordan Addison.
23:43Being absent, he comes right out and makes a nice block here on this edge.
23:46Number 19 for Minnesota.
23:48A veteran player.
23:49One of my favorite players in the NFL.
23:51Was here for quite a while.
23:55Knows the offense.
23:56His last year in Minnesota was Kevin O'Connell's first year as head coach.
24:00And they got reunited and he was happy about that.
24:04Second down and four.
24:05Handoff to Mason again.
24:07And that's two carries.
24:09And the first first down of the night for the Vikings who trail by seven after a gain of five.
24:14And that will do it for quarter number one in the extremely young career of J.J. McCarthy.
24:22Fresh set of downs when we start quarter number two.
24:25Seven nothing Chicago on top.
24:28You're watching NFL kickoff presented by YouTube TV.
24:32Quarter number two moments ago.
24:43Lisa caught up with Kevin O'Connell.
24:46Kevin, how has J.J. McCarthy looked to you so far?
24:49Yeah, to me, J.J. looks settled in.
24:53We got to protect him a little bit better.
24:55Got, you know, had a couple early miscues that normal jitters will work through it.
25:00We'll put a drive together right now, go tie this thing up, and just keep competing.
25:04After the second, third, and out, I saw you go to the bench to talk to him.
25:07What did you say to him?
25:08I just told him, you know, his demeanor, you know, everything about him doing his job right now is good.
25:14We got to pick him up around him, me included.
25:15Thank you, Kevin.
25:17Joe.
25:18All right, Lisa, thank you.
25:19What a job Kevin O'Connell did in rebuilding the confidence of Kirk Cousins when he first took over in Minnesota.
25:26Last year, rebuilding the confidence in the career of Sam Darnold.
25:31And now he is molding young J.J. McCarthy, the number 10 pick from last season.
25:37Here's his first one downfield, and there's contact and a flag.
25:42Aaron Jones out of the backfield, down the sideline, and Deshaun Wright, who last year was on the Vikings practice squad, guilty of pass interference.
25:58Let's take a look at it.
26:00Pass interference, number 26 defense.
26:02The ball will be placed, a spot of foul, automatic first down.
26:05Clearly pass interference, and they get the call, but to be able to split out a guy like Aaron Jones as a running back and have him work one-on-one against a corner
26:15and have J.J. McCarthy with the confidence in giving him a chance on a deep ball is pretty good.
26:21They were working also with Justin Jefferson over the middle.
26:24But Dennis Allen on that play with two tight ends and T.J. Hawkinson in the lineup, elects to go face coverage.
26:34And even with a corner on Aaron Jones, they still get something out of it.
26:4342 yards on that penalty on pass interference.
26:46McCarthy keeps, ducks, goes, and gets 11.
26:51Let's send it down to Laura.
26:56Well, Joe, you just mentioned Deshaun Wright was on the practice squad for the Vikings last year.
27:00He spent most of his time on the scout team going up against Justin Jefferson
27:04and actually credits Jefferson with making him a better corner, filling in for Jalen Johnson tonight, of course.
27:09But he said Jefferson told him, don't hold back.
27:12He wanted to do as much as possible against him on that practice squad.
27:17So he's getting his chance tonight, Laura.
27:19Jordan Mason, 26 years old from Oregon State.
27:24Handoff is to Mason and a nice push over the left side, a gain of five.
27:29Well, I think that's the part that we're going to see out of Minnesota offensively this year
27:33is bringing in Jordan Mason, made the trade with the 49ers.
27:36And last year, Aaron Jones, you know, he had more touches than he had at any other time in his career.
27:43And they just don't want to continue to overwork him like that, bringing a bigger back like Jordan Mason,
27:49and let him get the tough yards like he just got.
27:52Second and five, Mason again, got around Edmonds for a moment, and then Tremaine gets back in on the tackle,
28:06and the Sean Wright was there to meet him initially in a loss of three.
28:10Well, just a good job there by Dio Dengbo.
28:16He's out there playing the edge, and you've got Oliver who's trying to make the block,
28:22and he just forces it out wide, and he holds the point.
28:27And if you don't secure that, you're going to have a hard time running strong side in this league.
28:30But, oh, Dengbo, another guy who they brought in this offseason, makes a nice play.
28:35Third and eight.
28:43Four-man rush.
28:44McCarthy.
28:45That's incomplete.
28:47Jefferson, the target.
28:48That ball hit the grass as he trapped it.
28:52It's fourth down, and the field goal unit comes on for the Vikings.
28:55Yeah, just man across the board.
28:57They've got a safety in the middle of the field.
28:59There's no disguising what Chicago is doing, and somebody's just got a win on the route.
29:06Just wasn't a whole lot of places to go with the football.
29:08You see the look here.
29:11Pretty good coverage.
29:13Drop ball, but you see, we talked about how Chicago's shorthanded with the injuries.
29:20They hold up well.
29:2131-yard try is drilled by Will Reichert.
29:24And J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings are on the board now, trailing seven to three.
29:31Biggest play on that possession, that 42-yard pass interference penalty, and the 31-yard field goal.
29:40That's the bean in downtown Chicago, where it's Soldier Field.
29:43Four-point game.
29:51Full moon as we continue on in Chicago at Soldier Field.
29:57At least I think that's a full moon.
29:59It looked full to me.
30:00I actually dropped my astronomy class at Indiana.
30:06I thought I had signed up for astrology, but instead it was astronomy.
30:10It was a bunch of numbers and stuff.
30:12Yeah, you don't want to part of that.
30:13So, goodbye.
30:157-3 game.
30:20D.J. Moore and the offense about to go back out to the field.
30:27And we are about to play our first quote-unquote cartoon of 2025.
30:33Here is Duvernay.
30:37Forced out after a good return.
30:39A flag is down at the 39.
30:42It's a 34-yard return, however.
30:58Illegal formation.
31:00Number 24, the kicking team, for leaving early.
31:02The five-yard penalty will be enforced at the end of the return.
31:05First down in Chicago.
31:06Against Nick McLeod.
31:09And so we will tack on at the end of that return
31:12by Duvernay.
31:23And he left too soon.
31:26And that killed the cartoon.
31:28I was going to say, I think we're making
31:29America wait for Ferris Bueller.
31:36Ben Johnson cartoon.
31:37First down.
31:39Williams has started 9-for-9.
31:41How about 10-for-10?
31:42How about D.J. Moore?
31:44You're going to wait longer for the cartoon.
31:46First down at the 31.
31:48After a 30-yard completion from Caleb Williams.
31:52Troy, who's 10-for-10.
31:53Yeah, he's on a roll right now.
31:55This is his best throw of the night.
31:57You're going to see that Moore comes off the ball.
32:01He gets jammed up a little bit.
32:03So the timing is off.
32:04And Caleb then in the pocket, he's got a double hitch just to get the timing back on it.
32:10But he knew exactly what he had with the coverage.
32:13They covered the inside receiver.
32:15He went to the outside guy.
32:16And just really great presence by Caleb Williams knowing what he got.
32:25Career best 10 straight completions for Caleb Williams as the handoff is to D.J. Moore,
32:32his second carry.
32:33Eric Wilson on the tackle, a gain of one.
32:39And the longest by the Bears to start a season since 1978.
32:45We'll get John Perlin on a name for that.
32:51We call Perlin Pylon.
32:54Country's waiting for that.
33:00All right, second and nine.
33:03That's a flag.
33:08Backing him up.
33:09That's another area with some of the pre-snap with the motions just timing it up.
33:15Number two offense.
33:17Five-yard penalty.
33:18Second down.
33:19And that's going to be a work in progress.
33:22But I know for Ben Johnson, boy, that's just something that really irritates him as it does all coaches.
33:28That when you're getting penalized before the ball is even snapped.
33:32But that's some of which this offense has struggled with in camp.
33:35And they'll continue to get better as we move through the year.
33:38But we saw that right then from D.J. Moore moving a little bit sooner.
33:47Second and 14.
33:49Williams' time runs out.
33:52Caleb on the move.
33:55Nice spin as he got around Byron Murphy.
33:59Third down coming up.
34:01Pressure by Ivan Pace.
34:03And it turns into an eight-yard run by Caleb.
34:06One of the areas that Caleb really needed to improve upon was his cadence.
34:10And using it as a weapon, especially against a defense like the Minnesota Vikings.
34:14He does great here.
34:17He mixed it up.
34:18They just didn't handle the twist up front.
34:21And Caleb, again, being able to use his legs, which is such an asset for him, and tonight, he's used it when he's needed it.
34:30Another false start.
34:42False start.
34:43Number 73 offense.
34:45Five-yard penalty.
34:46Third down.
34:49Jonah Jackson.
34:49as I mentioned earlier last year
34:54with the Rams with the Lions
34:56before that pro bowler with
34:58Detroit and to solidify the
35:01interior offensive line and
35:03that's three false start
35:04penalties against the Bears in
35:07the half third and eleven cups
35:08leading when you get backed up
35:09third and long against this
35:11Flores defense see if he decides
35:14to come after him but looks like
35:16another four man rush and I
35:19have to sweat fourth down nice
35:24game three yards short of the
35:27first down Theo Jackson made the
35:30stop the crowd is excited to see
35:32the offense stay out on fourth
35:34and three there are they're not
35:37the ones who ever have to answer
35:38for it if it doesn't work we'll
35:43see if Ben Johnson is going to
35:45actually go for it or if he's
35:46going to maybe try to draw him
35:47off sides well the play clock is
35:53at nine that took a long time to
36:04get to the line of scrimmage time
36:08out taken second taken by the
36:10Bears in this half before fourth
36:12and three here it is rest easy Ben
36:17Johnson got the city of Chicago
36:19excited again Detroit Lions
36:20offense was in rhythm under
36:23Johnson led the NFL with twenty
36:25nine points per game and the
36:27Bears looking for a winning season
36:31their first since twenty eighteen
36:32and their first playoff win since
36:34twenty ten that is not Ferris
36:37Bueller that is obviously Ben
36:41Johnson who loves obviously
36:43obviously yeah but not leopard
36:48print it's not Matthew Broderick
36:51it was that was Ben fourth and
36:53three quick snap over the middle
36:57bad throw out in front of DJ more
37:00and turning it over on downs are the
37:03Bears look like he had he had him
37:06all right that's one that he's
37:07going to be kicking himself he
37:09had him as wide open as you can
37:10get and it's his first in
37:13completion of the game Vikings
37:17ball down for Caleb Williams off
37:26to a flying start statistically to
37:30probably thinking about that fourth
37:32down throw he missed as we look at
37:35this quarterback comparison and
37:37J.J. McCarthy who's just one for
37:40two trying to settle in to his
37:42first NFL start you can add a rush
37:44touchdown for Caleb Williams a
37:48nine yarder to get the scoring
37:50started
37:58here's Jones on the edge
38:00and pretty well played defensively
38:03by Noah Sewell take a look at the
38:07first round quarterbacks in that
38:08twenty twenty four draft Caleb
38:11Williams first overall the Bears
38:13Jayden Daniels you know what he
38:15did he guided his team to the
38:16NFC champ game last season Drake
38:19May Michael Penix Jr. J.J.
38:21McCarthy and Bo Nix pretty good
38:24class at the top really good
38:26there's some guys already that are
38:28pretty accomplished in those
38:29teams would say that they have
38:31found their franchise guy which is
38:32what you're hoping to say when you
38:34come out of that rookie year
38:35second and eight Hawkinson as his
38:37first catch first target on top of
38:39that up to the thirty and it's
38:42third and a long four I know
38:45McCarthy hasn't really gotten the
38:46ball out much here tonight but
38:48T.J.
38:49Hawkinson is one of those guys
38:50especially with Jordan Addison
38:51missing the first three games
38:53due to a suspension that I would
38:55expect him to be heavily
38:57involved in this offense outside
38:59of Justin Jefferson he came into
39:02last year coming off a knee
39:03injury missed the first seven
39:05games came on strong towards the
39:07end he says he's fully healed
39:09from that and ready to go and
39:11he's a young quarterback security
39:13and he's like it they're down and
39:15for McCarthy Jefferson didn't get
39:19it it's fourth down good strong
39:25tackle by Tremaine Edmonds one of
39:28the two linebackers that the
39:29Bears brought in back in twenty
39:31twenty three his run made T.J.
39:33Edwards inactive tonight with a
39:35bad hamstring yeah just a really
39:36good job by him he goes back and
39:39he reads the the route and just
39:41immediately puts his foot in the
39:42ground that's a veteran player
39:46does a nice job of being able to
39:47come up and make a tackle on a
39:48guy that's not easy to get to
39:49the ground short of the first
39:51down first catch of the night
39:52for Justin Jefferson right
39:54another punt Duvernay has been
39:59busy not a pretty one
40:12and good field position for the Bears
40:15leading by four Navy Pier on a
40:17beautiful night in Chicago you're
40:19watching NFL kickoff presented by
40:21YouTube TV play is brought to you
40:32by Chick-fil-a let's take a look at
40:34Caleb Williams this first half and
40:36you see as he's able to get through
40:37the progression and check the ball
40:39down which is you talked about Joe
40:41he's been preached to all week
40:43completions completions completions
40:45and then when the pocket is
40:46collapsed on him and he hasn't seen
40:48anything down the field he does what
40:50he's able to do and what we've seen
40:51throughout his career the ability to
40:53make plays and then of course here's
40:54the touchdown run getting outside the
40:56pocket once again so it hasn't been
40:59perfect the numbers look good he's
41:02missed a few guys that have had
41:03they've had opportunities for some
41:05bigger plays but overall in this
41:07first game in this new offense I
41:10think he's handled everything very
41:11well it was just a thirty one yard
41:14punt by Ryan Wright and good field
41:18position for the Bears up seven
41:20threes starting at their thirty
41:22five Kyle Monunga the rookie they
41:29fake it to him William steps up and
41:31that ball is batted down by Ty Ingram
41:35Dawkins he's the rookie in a fifth
41:39round pick out of Georgia and he's
41:41six five got his hands up and
41:43knocked it away and they had an
41:45opportunity outside as well they do
41:47a nice job of they've been running
41:49some jumbo packages which means
41:51they bring in the extra offensive
41:53lineman here it's Theo Benedict the
41:56undrafted rookie and play heavy play
41:59action show run you got one on one
42:00on the outside but because of the big
42:03guy in the middle not able to what
42:05should have been an easy completion
42:07of Caleb just lays that ball and not
42:09tries to drive it so hard extra men
42:11on the rush this time and Caleb is
42:13flushed out to his right flag flies
42:15and the pass is incomplete for
42:17Zaccheaus it's a hold against
42:21Chicago and that time Brian Flores
42:23brought pressure holding number twenty
42:26five offense ten yard penalty replay
42:29second down yeah of course Brian
42:32Flores everyone knows he brings more
42:34pressure than anybody in the game and
42:36this first half he's he's been pretty
42:39conservative and I know we talked to
42:41him Joey he said even when he's able
42:43to get a pressure with a four man he
42:45can't help himself he wants to bring
42:47someone else but Ivan Pace who came on
42:52the blitz there he's one of the best
42:53blitzing linebackers in the game he
42:55does an outstanding job and there's
42:57a lot of versatility on this group
42:59and Brian Flores gives them all an
43:01opportunity to make plays just two
43:06blitzes tonight dialed up by Flores
43:09so far Caleb Williams three straight
43:15incompletions after starting ten for
43:17ten third down and ten Williams in
43:20trouble and able to get free for a
43:23moment still rolling and out of bounds
43:26as it looked like Jonathan Allen was
43:29going to have his first sack as a
43:32Minnesota Viking and he came up empty
43:34came up empty he had he had a chance
43:36I'm not sure how Williams gets out of
43:38that but he comes back with another
43:40five-man rush and so he's not going to
43:43allow Caleb Williams to just sit back
43:45there at times he's had pretty good
43:46protection but he's able to get away
43:48from Jonathan Allen but still having
43:50to punt the football and now on
43:58fourth down it's Tori Taylor Bryce
44:03has to sprint out to his left
44:06leading with his teammates to get
44:07away from it good job by the rookie
44:09that ball was awfully close to
44:12hitting a couple of Vikings over on
44:14the far side of the field and not
44:16taking any chances Miles Price picked
44:19it up and returned it for eight
44:21yards McCarthy back to work down
44:26seven three under six to go in the
44:31half the Bears still leading seven
44:34three talked about Caleb Williams
44:35starting this game ten for ten the
44:38Vikings to have kind of survived that
44:40they've let J.J. McCarthy settled in a
44:43little bit it's just a four point
44:45game and now McCarthy back to work
44:47here well tell you I've been
44:48impressed with what this defense
44:49has been able to do Dennis Allen
44:51and his group has really done a
44:52nice job and understandable that
44:54they've gone they're going against
44:55a quarterback making his first
44:57start but to be without their top
44:59two corners and Jalen Johnson and
45:01then Kyler Gordon and you've got
45:03Justin Jefferson on the other side
45:05we've seen Nick McLeod who has
45:08stepped in and had to play that
45:10nickel role for Kyler Gordon who's
45:12one of the best in the league and
45:14you know he was pretty sticky on
45:17Justin Jefferson so that group's
45:18playing good football right now
45:23starting at the twenty four they
45:24hand to Mason and he's able to
45:27bounce he gets ten plus but a
45:29flag is down and maybe that's why
45:31he was able to it's a hold that's
45:34coming back
45:40holding number 67 offense 10 yard
45:43Tony we play first down we've seen
45:45Justin school with the 49ers played
45:47a lot last year with Tampa Bay they
45:50brought him in because Christian
45:52Derrisaw their usual left tackle is
45:55making his way back from a torn left
45:58ACL and MCL there's the hold on
46:01school and Derrisaw was kind of iffy
46:05during the week he's ahead of
46:06schedule but was not ready to go
46:08needing confidence in that knee so
46:11school gets the start schools got
46:13a little experience within this
46:14offense having played in San
46:16Francisco but you're right he was
46:17an insurance policy hoping to have
46:19Derrisaw back tonight but he but
46:21school got the nod this one's
46:23batted down Edmonds and it's second
46:27and twenty well that's one area
46:31that JJ McCarthy he's just got to
46:33be a little bit better you're
46:35going to see the receiver come
46:36into the middle and you got to just
46:38lay this ball TJ Hawkinson just
46:41got to lay it to the middle and
46:43let him go and a lot of when you
46:45watch McCarthy there's a lot of
46:46fastballs and when you throw that
46:49it's all those interior pressures
46:51become factors like we just saw
46:54second down and twenty McCarthy
46:57protected and his arm was hit by
47:00Dio O'Dangbo that's an incomplete
47:03pass it's third and twenty and Dio
47:06O'Dangbo the former Indianapolis
47:09Colts who signed a three year deal
47:11got his hand on McCarthy's arm
47:15well initially as you see the job
47:17that he does coming in and getting
47:18his hands on him the Quan brisker
47:21was playing kind of middle field
47:22there right where JJ McCarthy was
47:25wanting to lay the football and
47:27that's why he was holding it
47:29overall that protection wasn't that
47:31bad now the play clock at three
47:38timeout Minnesota Kevin O'Connell
47:41gets the timeout on the sideline he
47:43was asking for it they throw the
47:45flag but we'll see if they give the
47:47Vikings the timeout well JJ McCarthy
47:50was asking to to get a new play
47:52clock and and so is Kevin McCarthy
47:54over there I think they both were
47:57playing game offense on your own
47:59penalty or about yeah I thought
48:01O'Connell was going down to the
48:02official to say timeout he was
48:04going down to the official to say
48:06reset the play clock that's right
48:08and this is what McCarthy so he
48:09sees the play clock and he's
48:12expecting a reset as well I'm not
48:14exactly sure Russell why either of
48:17them were wanting a reset yeah
48:19that was a normal play I can't
48:21imagine any reason why there had
48:22to be a reset there I think it was
48:24good job to let him play on that's
48:26Russell York rules expert play
48:31clock is down low again it's a
48:33three quick set up and throw it's
48:37Mason just to buy a little bit of
48:39room and he's to the 15 that's
48:41it Sewell and Edmonds the two
48:45starting linebackers playing in
48:47place of the injured TJ Edwards
48:50at least Noah Sewell is combined on
48:52the stop again of seven it's
48:53fourth down you know the game
48:54kind of started this way as far as
48:56McCarthy you know feeling the
48:59pressure of the play clock
49:00winding down and it's continued and
49:04there's something with the
49:05mechanics of how he's getting the
49:07play how he's getting it called
49:09whatever the miscommunication is it's
49:12causing too much stress at the
49:13line good punt this time by right
49:17Duvernay brought down near the 40
49:21by Ty Felton after a return of
49:27seven yards next week Monday night
49:29football doubleheader at seven
49:31o'clock Eastern ABC and ESPN it's
49:33the Tampa Bay Bucs want to know
49:35against the Houston Texans 0 and
49:371 and then after that on ESPN at
49:4010 Eastern the LA Chargers who beat
49:42Kansas City and Brazil taking on
49:45Las Vegas who won over the
49:47Patriots both games will be
49:50available on the all new ESPN app
49:54a tough loss for the Texans
49:55yesterday in Los Angeles but how
49:59about shake and bake Baker
50:00in Mayfield coming up with the win
50:03against Atlanta here is Swift
50:08yeah Baker in that game a game
50:10winning 25 yard touchdown pass to
50:13Emeka Ibuka the rookie who looks
50:15outstanding