The Chicago Bears put up 59 points, a franchise record for a season opener, in their Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers. But they allowed 37, and in Week 2 they face another prolific offense.
The Bears stay home to face the Minnesota Vikings, who scored 39 points in their own opening-week win over the Green Bay Packers. The Bears defense will need to solidify its cracks on Sunday if Chicago plans to start the season 2-0.
Before Sunday’s showdown, the Bears announced some personal news on a rookie defensive back who spent most of his time in the special teams unit against Carolina.
Undrafted free agent safety Skyler Thomas celebrates a birthday today, the Bears announced on their social media channels. Thomas turned 23 on Thursday, and the team wished him a happy birthday four days after his NFL debut.
Chicago Bears Safety Skyler Thomas’s Long Road
Thomas was born in Redwood City, California, and grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula near Menlo Park, the middle of three football-playing brothers. His older brother Darius played wide receiver in college, and his younger brother Cynai signed with Oregon State as part of its 2026 recruiting class, according to a report by The Athletic.
He spent three years of high school at Menlo-Atherton before transferring to Heard County in Georgia for his senior season, playing both receiver and defensive back. As a sophomore, he helped Menlo-Atherton win its first state championship, going 13-2, according to his official Oregon State bio. Oregon State beat out California for him as a three-star recruit.
Thomas proposed to his high school sweetheart, Jacorey Hudson, in June 2025, and the two married in December, in Cabo San Lucas, around the time he finished his Oregon State degree, The Athletic reported.
Thomas arrived in Corvallis as a cornerback and shifted to safety before his second season. A torn ACL in training camp wiped out his entire 2023 campaign. He came back to start the final two years of his career, serving as a team captain and totaling 191 tackles over his college career, with three interceptions and 17 passes defended across 49 games.
Thomas got a late invite to the Senior Bowl and a spot in the American Bowl during draft season, but no team called his name in the April NFL draft.
The Bears then signed him as an undrafted free agent in May on a three-year deal worth roughly $3.12 million, including $220,000 in guaranteed money in his rookie deal.
Thomas made Chicago’s initial 53-man roster and backed it up all preseason, playing in all three games without missing a tackle across 102 snaps. Pro Football Focus graded him among the top rookies in the league, with an 84.3 overall mark that ranked 12th among all rookies.
| CHICAGO BEARS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Result / Kickoff (ET) | Network / W-L |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 13 | @ Carolina | Away | W 59-37 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | Minnesota | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 3 | Mon, Sep 28 | Philadelphia | Home | 5:15 PM | ESPN / ABC |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | New York Jets | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 11 | @ Green Bay | Away | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | @ Atlanta | Away | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 7 | Thu, Oct 22 | New England | Home | 5:15 PM | Prime Video |
| 8 | Mon, Nov 2 | @ Seattle | Away | 5:15 PM | ESPN |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | Tampa Bay | Home | 5:20 PM | NBC |
| WK 10 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | New Orleans | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | @ Detroit | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 6 | Jacksonville | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | @ Miami | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 15 | Sat, Dec 19 | @ Buffalo | Away | 5:20 PM | CBS |
| 16 | Fri, Dec 25 | Green Bay | Home | 10:00 AM | Netflix |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | Detroit | Home | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Minnesota | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. Week 1: Hi Pass — Williams 269 yds; Hi Rush — Swift 124 yds; Hi Rec — Raymond 84 yds. Week 10 is bye week. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. | |||||
Thomas’s Role In Bears’ Record-Setting Win
Sunday’s regular-season opener at Bank of America Stadium turned into a rout. Chicago beat Carolina 59-37, in what CBS Sports flagged as the highest-scoring opener in NFL history. Quarterback Caleb Williams accounted for four touchdowns, throwing for 269 yards and running for 65 more, while the Bears piled up 552 total yards.
Thomas played very little of it on defense. He logged one tackle in three defensive snaps, just 4.4% of Chicago’s defensive snaps, splitting his limited time between run defense and coverage. Pro Football Focus gave him a modest grade on his tiny sample, reflecting how little the rookie factored into a game the starters controlled from the opening drive.
But he appeared in 54% of the Bears’ special teams snaps.
Chicago still has Thomas on the 53-man roster heading into Sunday’s home game against Minnesota at Soldier Field, where a blowout margin like the one in Carolina would leave more room for the birthday boy to see the field.
Bears Announce Skyler Thomas Personal News Before Vikings Game