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5 big takeaways from Chicago Bears’ 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) warms up before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Sunday felt like a step back for the Chicago Bears.

Chicago came to Baltimore looking to extend their four-game winning streak and build momentum under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. Instead, the Bears lost 30-16 and raised questions in all phases of the ball.

Not much went right for the Bears at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The offense failed to build much momentum while an injury-depleted defense couldn’t find a way to stop a Ravens offense without star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Here are the five big takeaways from the team’s tough loss on the road.

Can’t get a stop

The Bears couldn’t continue their streak of forcing turnovers and allowed the Ravens to move the ball up and down the field with ease.

Chicago had an impressive streak heading into Sunday’s game. The defense forced at least three turnovers in each game during the Bears’ four-game winning streak, including at least four in three of those games. But the Bears couldn’t force a turnover without some of their starters for the first time since Week 2.

A turnover would’ve been helpful with the way the Ravens moved the ball, even without Jackson. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, completing 77.3% of his passes as he made effective plays. The Ravens ended with 355 total yards of offense and scored points on all but two drives.

The Bears played without all three of their starting cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon, due to injury. But safety Kevin Byard didn’t want to use that as an excuse.

“We just didn’t do enough as a defense ...,” Byard said. “So I personally think that in the at least pass-defense wise, we did pretty a solid job. We just didn’t create any turnovers. So when you don’t create any turnovers, we don’t affect the quarterback enough, we don’t stop the run, you’re not gonna win on the road, especially against a talented team like that.”

More undisciplined play

Chicago has been plagued by penalties that have stalled drives and extended their opponents’ drives for most of the season. That didn’t get better Sunday afternoon.

The Bears committed penalties at some of the most inopportune times once again. Rookie tight end Colston Loveland was called for a false start on third-and-1 from the Baltimore 8-yard line on the team’s opening possession while cornerback Nick McCloud earned a pass interference on third down in the second quarter. Another penalty also took away a nice punt from Tory Taylor in the second quarter.

Chicago finished the game with 11 penalties for 79 yards on Sunday. The team has now committed 64 penalties for 533 yards this season.

It was another undisciplined showing for the Bears under a first-year head coach. Johnson felt it was up to the players at this point of the season to make the changes needed to avoid undisciplined play.

“I really put it on the leaders in that locker room to get this ship going in the right direction in that regard,” Johnson said. “Us coaches, we’ve been pounding that drum now for a while, we haven’t gotten the results we’ve wanted. It’s on the leaders here on this team to get us right.”

Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) leaves the field during the second half an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Lamar Jackson’s late substitution

The Bears spent most of the week planning that Jackson would play in Sunday’s game. That quickly changed on Saturday.

Jackson had missed the previous two games ahead of Sunday, out with a hamstring injury, before he returned to practice last week. The Ravens reported he was limited in both practices Wednesday and Thursday before he was elevated to a full participant Friday with a questionable designation for Sunday.

But the Ravens surprised some when they changed Jackson’s designation Saturday. They ruled him out for Sunday’s game and said he was actually limited in Friday’s practice, which would be a violation of NFL rules.

Chicago players and coaches tried to deal with it as best as they could, saying there wouldn’t be too much of a schematic change with Huntley in the game.

“Changed it up a little bit. I mean, we had some stuff up that we were supposed to run, but obviously, with Huntley in the game, you know, we played a little a lot more different things like that,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “But just no excuses at the end of the day.”

Bad injury luck

Injuries continued to pile up for the Bears from the first play on Sunday.

Defensive lineman Dominique Robinson was the first injury of the day when he hurt his ankle on the opening kickoff. Rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner then hurt his knee on a play in the second quarter and had to be carted off the sideline. Rookie Luther Burden III then suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter while wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus had a knee injury in the fourth quarter.

Turner and Burden were both ruled out while Robinson was doubtful. Johnson didn’t have an update after the game on Zaccheaus.

It was more bad injury news for the Bears, with plenty of it heading into Sunday’s game. Chicago played without Stevenson and Gordon and starting tight end Cole Kmet.

Something to play for

The Bears led up to Sunday’s game repeating that Baltimore wasn’t as bad as its 1-5 record. The Ravens proved that Sunday afternoon.

Baltimore had entered the season as a Super Bowl contender with Jackson earning his second Most Valuable Player last season. But injuries took away Jackson and depleted much of its defensive star power, which led to a misleading record.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh only had a couple losing seasons since he took over in 2008. His leadership was clear among Chicago players and coaches after Sunday’s loss, feeling like the Ravens played up to their season being on the brink Sunday, even without Jackson.

“Obviously, they’re well-coached,” Loveland said. “They got some good players and by no means were they ever going to give up and just lay down. So yeah, we knew coming in, props to them. They thought they fought their butts off.”

Michal Dwojak

Michal Dwojak

Michal covers the Chicago Bears for Shaw Local and also serves as the company's sports enterprise reporter. He previously covered the CCL/ESCC for Friday Night Drive and other prep sports for the Northwest Herald. Michal previously served as the sports editor for the Glenview Lantern, Northbook Tower and Malibu Surfside News.