For three quarters, it felt like Dennis Allen’s defense was the heartbeat of Soldier Field. In the second quarter, the Minnesota Vikings‘ debut starter QB J.J. McCarthy’s deep shot left to Aaron Jones fell incomplete, and a defensive pass interference on Nahshon Wright flipped it into a 42-yard penalty. But then early in the third quarter, Wright stormed back with a 74-yard TD off a pick-six from McCarthy. JJ’s very first NFL throw to Justin Jefferson was gift-wrapped for the Chicago Bears, and Wright turned it into an 11-point lead.

But then came the collapse. Caleb Williams gave them hope. 210 yards and a touchdown that teased the promise of what could be. But then, with just over 2:30 left, he overthrew a wide-open pass to DJ Moore on what should’ve been a walk-in touchdown. Even in the third quarter, Bears kicker Cairo Santos missed a 50-yarder that would’ve pushed Chicago’s lead to 20-6. And when Ben Johnson was asked, Why did the rhythm die? His answer landed like a brick: “The run game didn’t feel in rhythm as I was calling it.” That’s not exactly the stuff that inspires confidence.

The Bears easily gave away 21 points to the Vikings in the last quarter. McCarthy hit Justin Jefferson for a touchdown and then connected with Aaron Jones for another that gave them a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter. After a slow start, he shrugged off the blemishes, leading the Vikes to a 27-24 comeback win. Reflecting on the comeback, Jefferson didn’t bother holding back his thoughts, cutting straight into Ben Johnson’s failed game plan. “It was more on execution than what they were showing us. They weren’t really showing us anything we hadn’t seen before,” Jefferson told reporters after the game. He admitted the Bears gave him the looks he expected and the doubles he anticipated, but nothing that took the Vikings out of their comfort zone.

“We knew we were going to get the shell, and I knew I’d be doubled at times. It came down to winning our one-on-one matchups. Once we look at the film, we’ll see we won a lot of those. We just have to get the ball in our hands and let everything else happen.” And when that ball finally did come his way, Jefferson made sure Chicago paid for it. He finished with four catches on seven targets for 44 yards, plus a touchdown and even a four-yard rush.

To cap it off, the Vikings comeback charge began at the right time when JJ McCarthy scooted his way into the end zone for a 14-yard rushing touchdown. His first NFL rushing touchdown. Even the sidelines erupted with Jefferson hitting on McCarthy’s helmet. Screaming, “Yeah, boy! Yeah, boy!” was more than a celebration.

“I saw it live, though I didn’t catch the whole thing until JJ broke past the end zone,” Jefferson said in the postgame conference. “The energy and juice we had once he scored—that’s exactly what we need every play, even in the first quarter… I’m just glad he got in the end zone, especially for his first passing touchdown to me.”

The words carried weight because early in the game, McCarthy looked every bit like he was finally getting his first NFL start after a meniscus injury wiped out his debut season. Minnesota’s offense had just 85 total yards heading into the fourth, with pre-snap chaos and missed reads making the unit look stuck in neutral. So, what went wrong that made the Bears lose a 17–6 lead?

Justin Jefferson gave the Bears a painful lesson in Week 1

Ben Johnson stepped to the mic like a man carrying the weight of an entire team on his shoulders. “Obviously a disappointing way to start the season,” he sighed, pointing to the lead Chicago coughed up in the fourth quarter. For a split second, it sounded like a head coach owning the mess—he even included himself, saying, “There were a number of things I could have done better.” But that tone didn’t last. Instead of leaving it at accountability, Johnson blamed his own staff. Calling the team “poorly coached” after 12 penalties turned their rhythm into chaos. He insisted no one was pointing fingers, but let’s be real—his words already drew the map.

Discipline wasn’t the only ghost haunting the Bears. Offensively, Chicago started like a house on fire—those first 15 plays looked scripted by an artist. But once the Vikings adjusted, Johnson and his staff had no brushstrokes left. His postgame spin about “letting it get away” didn’t mask the obvious. The defense fought, sure. But football is also about finishing the fight, and Chicago froze when the lights turned brightest. That’s when Justin Jefferson and the Vikings walked right through the cracks. Kevin O’Connell made his adjustments, and suddenly Minnesota shifted the entire score.

The truth? Ben Johnson got out-coached. His first 15 plays looked like a painter’s masterpiece, but when Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell adjusted, Chicago had no counterpunch. Johnson admitted as much, “No one’s going to feel sorry for us.”  Now, the Detroit Lions awaits next Sunday. But this time fans won’t be taking any more excuses.