CHICAGO -- Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will undergo tests Monday to determine the severity the right hamstring injury he sustained against the Vikings.
"We'll know tomorrow," coach Ben Johnson said, adding that he spoke with Williams who was in "good spirits" after the game.
Williams exited Chicago's 9-3 loss to the Vikings midway through the fourth quarter with the Bears deep in Minnesota territory.
One play after running back Kyle Monangai converted a fourth down with 8:30 to play, Williams ran to his left off a bootleg on first-and-goal with a clear path to the end zone. He went down awkwardly as it appeared Andrew Van Ginkel clipped Williams' heel while trying to make a tackle, but the Vikings outside linebacker said postgame that he did not make contact with Williams.
"I was just chasing him," Van Ginkel said. "I dove, missed him and then he just went down. I hope he's OK."
Williams let out a yell as he grabbed for his hamstring and tried twice to get to his feet on his own. He was helped off the field by two trainers and spent several minutes in the injury tent before being carted back to the locker room.
Williams was emotional as he rode away. He pulled a towel off his head as he neared the northwest tunnel of Soldier Field and raised his right arm in the air to give fans a thumbs up.
"I'm worried," cornerback Malik Muhammad said. "If 18 gets hurt, I'm worried. The whole stadium was worried, maybe the whole world. But he should be good. I asked him after the game if he's going to be good. He's going to be good."
Johnson expressed optimism over Williams being diagnosed with a hamstring injury and not something more severe.
"I mean, you could kind of see in real time," Johnson said. "I'm actually happy it's nothing with the knee. That was my first inclination. But yeah, a hamstring can be pretty damaging as well. We'll see how bad it is tomorrow and we'll go from there. It's quickly you've got to turn the page."
The Bears ruled Williams out for the remainder of the game not long after he got back to the locker room.
Williams has rarely dealt with injuries dating back to college. During the 2022 season at USC, Williams injured his left hamstring on a 59-yard run during the Pac-12 championship game against Utah. He did not leave the game and played in the Cotton Bowl the following week. After the Bears' loss, Williams was seen walking through the locker room under his own power while media was present and did not have a wrap around his leg.
"He was in here shaking everybody's hands, so letting us know that we're going to be good for the next one and we just got to keep on rolling," left tackle Braxton Jones said.
Williams was replaced by backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, and the Bears failed to score a touchdown despite running two plays inside Minnesota's 6-yard line. Trailing 6-3 at the time, the Bears attempted to tie the score when Cairo Santos lined up for a 23-yard field goal, but his attempt was blocked.
"It would've been nice to put it in the end zone when we're that close," Bagent said. "The drive after that, being able to have a chance at the end zone was all you can ask for. On my end, got to be better executing when we get down there."
With one minute remaining after the Vikings extended their lead to 9-3, Bagent led the Bears on an eight-play drive in which he got the offense into the red zone after an 18-yard catch by Luther Burden III and a 21-yard reception by Rome Odunze.
Bagent threw back-to-back incomplete passes from Minnesota's 12-yard line and was sacked on the final play of the game when the Vikings' Dallas Turner bulldozed through tight end Colston Loveland, who was singled up with the outside linebacker.
Despite the Bears' inability to pull off a come-from-behind victory, Bagent received praise for his late-game execution.
"He's a guy who puts in the work," wide receiver Kalif Raymond said. "He was ready for the moment. He's always going to be ready for the moment. You can tell by the way he works in practice. So no, he's very poised in the huddle and we felt very comfortable in the huddle."
One week after scoring 59 points against the Carolina Panthers, the Bears' offense struggled against an aggressive Vikings defense. Minnesota blitzed Williams on 78% of his dropbacks and stifled Chicago's passing attack. On throws of 10-plus air yards. Williams went just 1-for-4 with an interception. In Week 1, Williams went 7-of-11 for 160 yards and a touchdown on those same throws.
Chicago's 56-point drop-off is the second largest from one game to the next in the Super Bowl era.
"Overall, you look at what got us in the first half, offensively we had way too many penalties," Johnson said. "I think we had seven in the first half. Really threw us off course a little bit, and against a good defense like that, you can't shoot yourself in the foot. We had way too many turnovers, the blocked field goal hurts, and we had missed red zone opportunities as a whole."