Kevin Byard zeros in on Vikings, Bears Defense preps for Week 1 test

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - With the regular season finally set to begin, safety Kevin Byard is starting to scout out the Minnesota Vikings ahead of Chicago’s first game on Mon. Sept. 8 (7:15 p.m. / ABC).

However, he continues to focus on the team’s improvement each day.

“In the front of my mind, I always try to focus on the day. Obviously, this is one of those weeks where it’s kind of like as a team and obviously as the head coach, we want to focus on ourselves. This is a great fundamentals week, get in great condition, make sure we’re not just taking the week off or nothing like that. It’s really focused on ourselves,” Byard said. “But at the same time, I am and I will be taking some peeks of some film for Minnesota this week to just try to start getting my mind prepped for, obviously, whoever we’re going to go up against, but also of watching some previous games as far as Minnesota versus New Orleans or some LA games just because all coaches come from the same trees, kind of like the McVay tree. So, I’ll be watching some of those games just to see some plays that maybe (worked in) those games.”

While Chicago’s season opener is essential for obvious reasons, it will also be a good way to wash out the taste of how the Bears’ starters played in the final preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quarterback Tyson Bagent and the rest of the Bears' second-string led Chicago to victory, which is why the Bears finished the preseason without a loss.

Despite how the starters played, Byard said the Bears have put in a lot of hard work during training camp to be ready for the season opener.

“I don’t think we played inspiring football. Obviously, especially going up against the team that was in the Super Bowl last year, we didn’t put our best stuff on film and obviously, that was addressed in the meeting after the game and stuff like that,” Byard said. “But, I don’t think that it takes away from the work that we put in this entire training camp and how far we’ve come. But, that just wasn’t up to our standards that we put out there and I think it was a great lesson for us to learn this early, obviously still the preseason that, we’re (not) good enough to just roll out, just go out there and just play. We got to go out there and play with a certain mentality and intensity and it just wasn’t out there on Friday night.”

Chicago will be facing a quarterback who has yet to start in an NFL regular-season game - J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy and the Bears’ quarterback, Caleb Williams, came from the same draft class back in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in the first preseason game. He will have a challenging task going against Chicago’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Byard described Allen as “militant-minded” and an “aggressive playcaller,” and that is something that should show against the Vikings.

“He’s very militant-minded … If you see the way he works the room, commands the room. You would think he’s a commanding officer in the army or something like that. We’re like the troops,” Byard said. “He does a great job of getting guys in the right mindset to go out there and play a game and treat it as such, like we’re going to war. But, obviously, we all know he’s an aggressive playcaller. He’s an aggressive, just the style and the mentality he want his defense to be. So, I think that’s something that you will see for him.”

Throughout training camp, the Bears have struggled with injuries in the secondary. Chicago’s top cornerback, Jaylon Johnson, is still questionable for the opener.

However, it appears defensive back Kyler Gordon will be back against Minnesota as he has returned to practice.

“Kyler, it’s good to have him back out there at practice. He’s one of the most athletic DBs I’ve ever played with for sure. He’s very versatile. He basically can play corner, nickel and safety,” Byard said. “So, I’m sure DA’s going to have some stuff for him (and) going to move him around a lot. So, it’s always good to have a guy like him back out there with the secondary. I know he wants to be out there, and nobody wants to be hurt. So, I know he’s excited.”