The Magnificent 7

Seven players (actually six players and one coach) who made the biggest impact in the Bears' 24-20 victory over the Giants on Sunday at Soldier Field:

1. Caleb Williams

It remains to be seen if Williams has the "it" factor, but he showed more signs Sunday: 1) Made the most of a disappointing day on offense against a vulnerable defense with two late touchdown drives — throwing for one and rushing for the other; 2) didn't let several drops by his receivers throw him off his game or make him do too much; 3) confounded the Giants' defense with his escapability; 4) avoided interceptions on three deflected passes; 5) finished the game — in his his 26th consecutive start — which counterpart Jaxson Dart could not do; 6) made his opponent play stupid: Dart's late fumble, Giants coach Brian Daboll kicking a field goal at the half-yard line; Jamie Gillan's shanked punt.

2. C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Bears have a history of players who are never as good for them as they were against them (Jared Allen, Edgar Bennett, Kelvin Hayden, Nick Foles ...), but Gardner-Johnson is a former nemesis who already is paying dividends. Besides a team-high nine tackles, he forced Dart to fumble with 5:14 left in the third quarter when the Giants were driving for a touchdown that would have given them a 24-7 lead. And he had two sacks, including one with 3:01 to play that forced a punt (that was shanked 26 yards) and gave the Bears the possession that won the game. Gardner-Johnson is now 70-22 in games he has played in the NFL.

3. Jaxson Dart

Until the fateful fumble and concussion that knocked him out of the game in the third quarter, Dart confounded the Bears' defense with his arm and mobility in a performance similar to Daniel Jones, who rushed for two touchdowns (21 and eight yards) in a 20-12 victory over the Bears in 2022 at the Meadowlands. Dart was actually better — completing 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards for a 91.5 passer rating (Jones thew for just 71 yards when he beat the Bears with his feet in 2022). He added 66 rushing yards on six carries. But he carelessly lost the ball on a seven-yard gain that would have given the Giants a first down at the Bears 21 with a 17-7 lead and 5:05 left in the third quarter, botched the recovery and played just two more snaps.

4. Rome Odunze

After the Bears social media team sent a STFU message to James Odunze earlier this week, Bears coach Ben Johnson sent one of his own Sunday. A week after Rome Odunze had no receptions (on three targets, with a drop) against the Bengals, he had a team-high 10 against the Giants — including a nine-yard reception on the Bears' very first play from scrimmage. Odunze finished with six receptions for 86 yards and a two-yard touchdown that got the Bears within 20-17 and set the stage for the winning drive. As it turned out, this time Moore had zero receptions (on four targets). He suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter and while he returned in the second half, was not a factor. Rookie Luther Burden (3-15) was the next most productive wide receiver against the Giants.

5. Brian Daboll

Coaches on the hot seat can get pretty loosey-goosey with the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head — Matt Nagy went for a two-point PAT and the win against the Seahawks late in 2022 (and got it). Marc Trestman benched Jay Cutler and started Jimmy Clausen against the Lions in Week 16 in 2014. But Daboll almost inexplicably played it close to the vest with the Giants at the half-yard line (after a penalty on the Bears) and leading 17-10 with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter. Instead of going for a two-touchdown lead, Daboll had Younghoe Koo kick a 19-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead, where two touchdowns could beat him — and they did, the result of a notably uninspired finish by the Giants that often signals the end for the coach.

6. Darnell Wright

A year after Caleb Williams made the Bears offensive line look worse than it was, Williams' escapability might be making the line look better than it is. Be that as it may, the Bears at least had a solid running game when the offense wasn't clicking — 28 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns. And Jonah Jackson/Drew Dalman had a key block on Dexter Lawrence on Kyle Monangai's eight-yard touchdown run in the first quarter — with Theo Benedet helping push Monangai across the goal line. The overall performance is a bit of a tightrope act, but Wright continues to be the best thing about the Bears' improving offensive line. His pancake block to counter Brian Burns' spin move is the latest Wright viral highlight.

7. Russell Wilson

Father Time remains unbeaten. In his first Soldier Field appearance in 2012, Wilson ran and passed the Bears ragged — with future Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher suffering a career-ending hamstring injury futilely chasing Wilson in overtime in a 23-17 Seahawks victory. Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback, was a shell of that player Sunday, when he was put in a position he used to thrive in and was less than ordinary. Wilson completed 3 of 7 passes for 45 yards (41 on a short pass to running back Devin Singletary, after Bears linebacker Noah Sewell missed a tackle behind the line of scrimmage) and rush twice for 12 yards. The Giants didn't even trust him to get less than a yard on fourth-and-goal with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter — not the most ignominious moment for Wilson at the goal line in his career, but surely a disappointment for a proud champion.

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