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 wal

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