Stock Up, Stock Down After Bears’ win over Vikings

Wright had the clutch interception in the win (Jeffrey Becker - USA Today Sports)

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - Another week, another thrilling win for the Chicago Bears. Special teams stepped up in a big way while the defense continued to create turnovers. However, the offense is still struggling to reach the end zone.

Nahshon Wright - Stock Up

Chicago’s game against the Minnesota Vikings was unquestionably an emotional game for cornerback Nahshon Wright, whose former coach, John Beam, was murdered just a few days before the game. Wright honored his former head coach by recording his fourth interception of the season, tying him for second in the NFL. Only Chicago’s safety, Kevin Byard, has more picks than Wright. Wright was not even supposed to be a starter for the Bears this season. But because of injuries, he has stepped up significantly. His stock is definitely up after another strong performance.

Caleb Williams - Stock Slightly Down

Overall, quarterback Caleb Williams has made a lot of progress. However, this game was a little disappointing. Some of his throws were inaccurate while others were right on the money. His completion percentage of 50 percent was a season low. Also, it seems like quite a paradox: Chicago is undefeated this season when its completion percentage is below 60 percent, but 1-3 when it's at least 60 percent. There definitely needs to be improvements with his accuracy and offensive efficiency as the team should be losing when he is more accurate. In addition, the Bears only scored one touchdown against Minnesota. That is not going to be sustainable throughout the season, and as the offensive leader, that rests on Williams.

Cole Kmet - Stock Up

Head coach Ben Johnson said he made a purposeful effort to get tight end Cole Kmet more involved in this week. That was certainly accomplished as Kmet led the Bears in receptions (five) and receiving yards (45), although he still only has one touchdown this season, showing he needs more red zone targets. While his opportunities have been limited this season, Kmet has made the most of them. Arguably, one of the best plays of the game was his stiff arm. That play showed the kind of physicality Kmet brings, a major reason his stock is up.

Tory Taylor - Stock Up

In a game where special teams was dominant, it is easy to not recognize the performance of punter Tory Taylor. Given Chicago’s offensive struggles, Taylor had six punts, his most since the Bears’ week one matchup against Minnesota. Taylor has had quite the impressive season with an average of 48.1 yards per punt and a season-long of 69 yards. Against Minnesota, he pinned them inside the 20-yard line twice and had a 57-yard punt. His stock has been outstanding all season and really should be acknowledged more.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka - Stock Down

Chicago only traded for one player at the trade deadline - defensive lineman Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. However, he has barely played through his first two games with Chicago. Against the New York Giants, he only played on 21.9 percent of the defensive snaps. That dropped to just 5.5 percent of the defensive snaps against Minnesota. He is not even contributing on special teams, as he only played on 3.3 percent of the special teams snaps against the Vikings. When the Bears traded for him, there was obviously some expectation that he would play, and this does not appear to be an injury-related issue. His stock is down until he actually gets involved in the defense.