Patrick Finley

The Bears were flagged for an illegal forward handoff during Thursday night’s win against the Patriots after quarterback Caleb Williams handed the ball forward to Thuney after faking a handoff to running back D’Andre Swift, who had lined up in the left slot and was running right.

This is what the offense was supposed to look like after Johnson talked up both Burden and Loveland all offseason long

The Bears’ schedule the rest of the season features two of the best three teams in the AFC: the Jaguars at home and the Bills on the road. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks await the Bears next week. But nothing will be more important than what they do against the NFC North.

That’s at once encouraging and a challenge to be solved over the next three months. All four teams can, with a straight face, say that they have Super Bowl aspirations.

Zavier Scott had been promoted three times, the maximum for a practice squad player.

This year hasn’t pushed the edges of field goal range farther back, nor has it made kickers more accurate. Kickers have made 84.3% of their kicks this year, down from 85.6% the entirety of last year — and the weather hasn’t even turned nasty yet.

Williams wore black cleats with a prominent Caddix logo against the Falcons and did so again Thursday against the Patriots. He’s yet to be fined from the Patriots game, but it’s likely on the way.

The Bears will face the defending Super Bowl champions on "Monday Night Football."

Williams said Wednesday that 'obviously that’s the best defense in football right now.'

Simmons is a four-time Pro Bowl player.