NFL Gameday Preview: Caleb Williams predicts 'bad things' as Chicago Bears meet Minnesota Vikings in Mexican standoff between Ben Johnson and Brian Flores

The NFL welcomes its own Mexican standoff this weekend as two of football's most prized scheme sculptors dare one another to draw first in their own poker-faced game of disguise, deception and no mercy.

Ben Johnson's full-throttle free-scoring Chicago Bears offense hosts Brian Flores and his blitz-frenzied Minnesota Vikings defense. A multi-layered attack built on motion, savvy diagnosis-meets-adjustment and funky formations consistently challenging convention. And a Flores resistance that functions on personnel versatility, weak-spot detection and pressure from all areas of the field.

It is the ultimate chess match of fearless coaches, whose well-established systems and approaches by now grant them the freedom to shred anticipatory gameplans with the proverbial slow ball. Both run systems dictated by immediate personnel and coverage diagnosis; miss one tiny detail and you are already dead.

The Bears just put up 59 points and 552 yards of offense in their Week One victory over the Carolina Panthers 100-yard rushing games from D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, both of whom scored twice on the ground, alongside two rushing touchdowns from Caleb Williams. Flores and the Vikings meanwhile sent the blitz on 73.8 per cent of Jordan Love's dropbacks during Minnesota's 39-22 win over the Green Bay Packers, the highest rate a quarterback has been blitzed since 2023.

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"It's a game-plan defense, he's gonna game plan from first snap to last snap," said Bears quarterback Williams. "Coach calls this 'mental war' when you go against him. That's what it is. Bad things are going to happen, you've got to be able to fight back and stay steady.

"That's one of the biggest things is not allowing his defense and all of that to fluster you and get in your mind. You stay steady and now it's time to go make plays and get completions and when the big ones show up, take them and find them."

Johnson, without even trying to, delivered the perfect advert for the game during an exchange with a reporter during his press conference earlier in the week.

The reporter was in the process of asking the Bears head coach as to whether there was the risk of overthinking and pre-empting when it came to the task of planning for a Flores defense. It prompted a widening grin that alone would sell the story of this weekend's matchup.

"Yeah, yeah, yes, there is," he laughed.

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In reply to the follow-up question, he joked he was already stuck "in that path" of overdoing how he would tackle Flores this time.

"There's a lot of that. Our guys, I want them to go out and play fast. I want to make sure we're sound… making sure we have a hat for a hat as often as we can. And if he gets us on something then that's fine. We gotta come together and make sure we get it corrected and we'll move on from there."

Johnson arrives 5-1 in matchups against Flores' Vikings defense across his time as both Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and Bears head coach. He has won one and lost one with Chicago, Flores laying out completely contrasting performances in both, adopting his blitz-heavy approach on one occasion and electing to drop multiple men into coverage on the other in a test of Williams' field read. His ability to jump from one extreme to the other is largely unmatched in football and creates one of the ultimate challenges for a young offense.

Who blinks first?

Live on Sky this Sunday:

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears - 6pm - LIVE on Sky Sports NFL: As the Vikings bid farewell to Jonathan Greenard in the offseason, expectations naturally heightened around Dallas Turner to make his leap as the new face of Kevin O'Connell's pass rush. He made a lightning start in Week One with one sack, 10 pressures, seven quarterback hits and a forced fumble against the Packers; he thrives on speed, explosiveness and agility more so than sheer power off the edge, as much plus lane discipline required against a shape-shifting Bears defense designed to thwart players like him. At the heart of Chicago's offense lies Williams, who is coming off his own statement performance in Week One perhaps best defined by his stunning back-shoulder fade touchdown pass to Cole Kmet. He also went some way towards answering lingering questions of his accuracy with a completion percentage upwards of 72; sure, it was the Panthers, but the early signs of him joining the elite were good.

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Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots - 6pm - LIVE on Sky Sports Football: The attention returns to Drake Maye as the New England Patriots quarterback seeks to kickstart his season after tossing three costly, wildly ill-guided interceptions in the fourth quarter of his side's opening day defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. The game-icing pick to Josh Jobe in the end zone was a staggering miscue for a player that was so often rewarded for his aggression during the 2025 campaign; he will also remain without new star weapon AJ Brown after he was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. The Steelers look to go 2-0 after opening their campaign with a 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons, during which Aaron Rodgers began the final game of his farewell season 24 of 40 passing for 221 yards and a touchdwon.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos - 9.05pm - LIVE on Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event: The Denver Broncos were the No 1-ranked defense in the NFL last season, leading the league with 68 sacks behind Nik Bonitto. They were a shadow of that unit in Week One as they missed 28 tackles for 247 extra yards - the most by any defense since 2018, as noted by my colleague Neil Reynolds. This version of Trevor Lawrence and Liam Coen's offense would like a piece of that action having just torn apart the Cleveland Browns in a four-touchdown performance from the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback, including a truly special demonstration of needle-threading anticipation to Josh Cameron.

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Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals - 9.25pm - LIVE on Sky Sports + (stream): Backup Drew Lock will start at quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks after replacing Sam Darnold following his injury in the opening drive of their opening-day win over the Patriots. Lock, who is 10-18 as a starter, completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown last week, reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba accounting for 122 yards through the air. The Cardinals are coming off their Week One win over the Los Angeles Chargers, which saw first-year coach Mike LaFleur became the first non-interim coach to win his first game as coach of the Cardinals since Don Coryell did it in 1973. Trey McBride remains the leading threat for Arizona on offense, while Uchenna Nwosu was everywhere on the field in a rampant performance against the Patriots.

Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys - 9.25pm - LIVE on Sky Sports Football:

The Dallas Cowboys defense remains a pressing concern for a team with the offensive arsenal to hurt any side in football. Led by new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, they just shipped 28 points against Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants as familiar weaknesses to their pass rush proved costly once again. Dallas added veterans Rashan Gary and Von Miller to their pass rush in the offseason, while Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark had been expected to upgrade the Cowboys' defensive front since their arrival, but the Week One signs were discouraging against a Giants offense still finding its way. Both teams feature potential stalwarts on defense in Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs as the former Ohio State teammates and fellow first-round draft picks reunite.

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Indianapolis Colts @ Kansas City Chiefs - 1.20am Monday - LIVE on Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event: The workhorse running backs are coming. Jonathan Taylor reminded all that he is THE Indianapolis Colts offense last weekend as he rushed 19 times for 98 yards yards and two touchdowns in their defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. Kenneth Walker III meanwhile teased his potential game-changing impact as the newest field-tilting star of the Kansas City Chiefs offense, rushing for 173 yards and a 60-yard touchdown alongside three catches for 18 yards and a score in their 31-10 win over the Broncos. He looks the perfect tool with which to help Patrick Mahomes ease back in following his knee injury and reignite what has been a stagnant Chiefs offense in recent seasons.

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What did they say?

• Rams head coach Sean McVay on his side's loss in Melbourne: "It's almost like you try to do the Men in Black thing where you say, 'Hey, I don't remember what happened. That was so long ago. We're not playing in Australia ever again, I hope. Not because it wasn't a great atmosphere, that'll get taken out of context."
• Titans QB Cam Ward: "I think I am a very good quarterback. I think I do a lot of things different, that a lot of quarterbacks can't do. And there's also stuff I have to get better at, some things that I lack and that's a process you take on each and every day."
• Seahawks QB Drew Lock: "I would say if there's one thing I'm saying to myself, it's take care of the football and get it into these guys' hands."
• Vikings QB Carson Wentz on WR Justin Jefferson: "The guy's so good. He's the best in the world at what he does, and sometimes you've just got to give him a chance. When it goes his way he usually finds a way to come down with it."
• Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel on the Steelers: "I think the Steelers is the identity. The Steelers are going to be the Steelers. They're big and they're long and they're going to try to force the quarterback into making mistakes."
• Vikings safety Harrison Smith on Bears QB Caleb Williams: "He's obviously capable of making highlight play after highlight play. He's really got it all. He's extremely talented. He's operating that offense very well."

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Key stats:

• The Cowboys haven't started 0-2 since 2010, when Wade Phillips was fired as coach with a 1-7 record as Dallas went on to a 6-10 finish.
• T.J. Watt's late pick-six for the Steelers against the Falcons saw him join Hall of Famer Julius Peppers as the only players in NFL history to have 100 sacks and 10 interceptions.
• Tennessee's Anthony Hill Jr. recorded 16 total tackles in Week One, the most of any player in his NFL debut within the last 30 years.
• Aaron Rodgers has thrown multiple touchdowns in six consecutive starts against New England.
• The Jaguars have won nine straight regular season games dating back to last season, outscoring opponents by 177 points during the streak, the highest point differential over a nine-game span by any team since the Bills had +179 from Week 16, 2020-Week 8, 2021.
• Houston's Will Anderson Jr has 93 QB pressures since the start of last season - second most in the league - with 40 happening in under 2.5 seconds.
• The Dolphins were tied for the most sacks allowed last week with five and were one of five teams, along with the 49ers, to have no sacks in the opener.
• The Vikings have won six straight games at Soldier Field, one short of the franchise record for consecutive road wins over a division opponent. They won seven straight at Detroit from 1968-74 and seven straight on the road against Green Bay from 1971-77.

Watch the 2026 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LXI on Sunday February 14, 2027. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.