Bears

The Bears lost their season-opener 27-24 to the Vikings after leading 17-6 to start the fourth quarter. Chicago QB Caleb Williams said they needed to execute HC Ben Johnson‘s playcalls to a higher level. 

“We felt like we were dominating the game, like you said,” Williams said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “We were in control up to two scores coming out of half. That mentality is something that we have, something that we preach. That didn’t happen today. It’s not a playcall thing. It’s not anything like that. It’s just being able to go out there and execute the plays that are called, be able to execute them at a high level. That’s something we take pride in. Today, that didn’t happen.”

Johnson said he felt the momentum changing as things started to go backwards with bad plays and penalties. 

“I think you certainly feel it when you’re on the sideline there,” Johnson said. “You got it moving, got it going, then all of a sudden it starts going backwards. Negative plays are happening, whether it’s penalties or the intentional grounding, things of that nature. It cost us some points big-time.”

Bears RT Darnell Wright feels they were “waiting on somebody” to spark things up.

“I feel like we [were] maybe waiting on somebody to be a spark or something like that or just get us back in the flow,” Wright said. “I feel like just getting back on page and just trying to be the spark yourself, that’s really it.”

Packers

Packers LB Micah Parsons was upset with how the Cowboys handled contract extension talks with him.

“I’m telling you, these last six months were super draining, super toxic for everyone,” Parsons said, via ESPN. “It’s something that I don’t think no player should have to go through. I think players’ fates should be decided earlier. I think the fact that I was traded a week before the season was really outrageous and rough. It’s something where I could’ve been with these guys getting better and better, and we could’ve had probably an even more dominant start if that was the decision we were going to make.”

Parsons added that he felt like he didn’t have his best game and is still ramping up to be his full self.

“I didn’t even get to really burst out yet, you know what I mean,” Parsons said. “I’m going to keep getting better. There’s a lot of things that I want to fix. I feel like I didn’t have a complete game and, obviously, that’s going to happen not playing for six months. But I can take this and build on it, and we’re going to be a really good football team.”

• The Packers signed P Daniel Whelan to a two-year, $6.2 million extension with $2.1 million guaranteed, including a $2.1 million signing bonus. The deal has base salaries of $1.03 million, $1.45 million and $2.65 million. (Over The Cap)

Vikings

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy spoke passionately in front of the team after committing an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the third quarter of their 27-24 victory over the Bears on Monday Night. Minnesota RT Brian O’Neill recalled McCarthy’s speech, saying the quarterback talked to everyone on the sidelines about the details of different plays. 

“He believed that it was about to pop,” O’Neill said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “There’s a lot of times where you’re like, ‘Yeah, all right, cool. Let’s go, whatever.’ But the conviction in his voice and how he was walking up and down the sideline talking to everybody, little details about different plays, getting guys locked in in the huddle. It was really cool to see.”

The game reminded McCarthy of the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals, where he recorded two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in Michigan’s 51-45 loss to TCU.

“You never want to earn wisdom that way, but it just brought me straight back to TCU when I had that first one early on in the game and then the second one later and at the end of the day. It sucks. It’s one of the worst things you could do as a quarterback, but you can’t do anything about it. You got to focus on the next play. The defense kept us in it the whole time, so it was just on our shoulders to go out there and execute and play as one and move on from that. That’s one of those things I don’t really hang on. And I was really grateful the way coach O’Connell handled it and was everyone on the same page.”

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell praised McCarthy for leading them back into the game after trailing 17-6 to start the fourth quarter. 

“But, there’s no way to deny that we don’t win this game unless J.J. plays the way he did in the second half, and most importantly kept the belief of his football team behind him. And now we know it’s possible. So we hope to not be in these circumstances very often, but his team’s made of the right stuff,” O’Connell said. 

• Vikings QB Carson Wentz signed a $1.25 million veteran minimum contract with a $167,500 signing bonus. (Ben Goessling)

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