Nahshon Wright's highs -- and lows -- epitomize a Bears defense that 'didn't finish' in Week 1 loss

Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune on Sep 9, 2025

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — Cornerback Nahshon Wright epitomized the highs and lows of a Chicago Bears defense that played a role in squandering a 17-6 third-quarter lead to lose to the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on "Monday Night Football" at Soldier Field.

The high: Wright picked off Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy and ran in a 74-yard touchdown to stake the Bears to that lead.

The lows: The Vikings capitalized from a pass interference penalty against Wright and a long pass play against him to set up two field goals before halftime.

Wright said both of his legs cramped in the fourth quarter, causing a brief exit.

“The individual accolades don’t matter once you don’t win,” Wright said after the game. “You want to come out on top by any means necessary. Obviously it was a great play, but you want to finish.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and learn how to finish.”

But Wright wasn’t alone.

Overall, the Bears committed 12 penalties for 127 yards, and the defense allowed Minnesota to rally in the fourth quarter with three straight touchdowns.

Safety Kevin Byard said, “Going against playoff teams, you can’t win ball games like that. You look at the penalty for early in the game with Shonny (Wright) and then Tyrique (Stevenson) … those penalties led to points.”

Stevenson’s pass interference penalty on wide receiver Jalen Nailor in the fourth quarter set up the Vikings at the Bears’ 27, and on the next play, McCarthy hit Aaron Jones deep right for a 27-yard score.

The Bears had an opportunity to keep McCarthy, essentially a rookie, from getting on track.

The Bears had bottled Jones up early (1.6 yards per carry at one point in the third quarter). But Bears kicker Cairo Santos’ miss from 50 yards not only gave the Vikings great field position but momentum as well. Minnesota took advantage of the short field and capped off the drive with McCarthy finding Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

And the rally was on.

McCarthy started hitting most of his targets. Jordan Mason energized the Vikings running game, and Jones followed suit.

In the fourth quarter, McCarthy connected on scoring tosses to Jefferson and Jones, then ran in a third, rumbling 14 yards to the end zone to give the Vikings a 27-17 lead with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left.

“Very disappointing,” Byard said. “When you’re up by two scores and you’re not able to close it out, it’s a lot of lessons to be learned in this game.”

Byard added, “We’re still learning how to win,” he said. “It wasn’t one phase’s fault, it was all our faults. …

“Their defense played better than our defense. And special teams had a (partially) blocked punt (for 25 yards with 7:38 left). So you’ve got to be able to finish games like that when you’re up by however many points we were up.

“And we just didn’t finish the game.”

The Vikings finished with 254 yards, with McCarthy — the La Grange Park product — going 13 of 20 for 143, two touchdowns and an interception.

The Bears defense was shorthanded in Week 1.

Top cornerback Jaylon Johnson practiced late last week, but he and cornerback Kyler Gordon were declared inactive, as was starting linebacker T.J. Edwards.

Losing three of your top playmakers is a big blow for a defense.

“We kind of just have a next man up mentality,” Wright said.

Though his highlight pales in the big picture, Wright’s interception was a potential game-turner and something to build on.

“Personally think he made a hell of a play,” Byard said. “I mean, Coach (Dennis Allen) sent a great blitz … it seems like he read the route and made a great play on the ball.

“And it was a huge play in the game for us. … He’s out there cramping, covering Justin Jefferson, who we know is a tough cover, but I think he played a hell of a game.”

Wright knew last week he’d possibly match up against Jefferson, arguably one of the top two wide receivers in the league. Wright was on the Vikings practice squad last season and he said he lined up across from Jefferson frequently.

On the Pick 6 play, Wright knew the situation, knew the play and knew Jefferson’s tendencies.

“It was a little bit of everything,” Wright said. “Body language, just kind of knowing the ball had to come out fast.

“I think that on that play they alerted, knowing that we were in (cover) zero, so they probably got to a concept … to try to get the ball out quick. And I just went and made a play.”

So, on third-and-8 from the Bears’ 32, Wright read it all the way, picked off McCarthy and housed it.

Still, Wright is keeping this moment in perspective, given a few big hiccups that marred an otherwise solid performance.

“When you go back and watch the film, it’s never as good as you think, and they’re never as bad as you think,” Wright said. “So just kind of got to go back and look at what I need to tighten up and just work on that.”

The same could apply to the rest of the Bears.

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