Week 8 wraps up with a showdown between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
The storylines are plentiful. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams makes his third start since returning from being sidelined by a hamstring injury. How will he fare against a defense run by Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald? What can Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson do as an offensive play-caller to get the upper hand? Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons makes his debut with the team after being acquired in a trade from the Tennessee Titans last Thursday. I could go on, but then I’d be writing until kickoff.
There are four players who stand out to me as having the most to gain in the Week 8 matchup on Monday Night Football. Let’s meet them.
Four Bears to Watch on Monday Night Football
ROME ODUNZE, WIDE RECEIVER
Lost in the madness that was everything that happened during and after the Bears’ Week 7 win on TNF was that Rome Odunze turned in his best and most well-rounded game as a pro. He caught 4 passes for 69 yards. And while he didn’t score a touchdown, Odunze came away with some of the game’s biggest plays.
This catch was clutch:Just when you think you have Caleb Williams… NOPE. NEvsCHI on Prime Video Stream on @NFLPlus t.co/0CMDqduqsi
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2026 Snagging the onside kick was important for obvious reasons:Odunze secures the onside kick, and the game! BEARS WIN. t.co/hXtCZQxhiD
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2026 And let’s not overlook his blocking:Rome Odunze said no block no rock here t.co/fRbTQXCLGO
— Devan Kaney (@Devan_Kaney) October 23, 2026.@Patriots @ChicagoBears @RomeOdunze @lutherburden3 Swift doesn’t gain +9 w/o the blocks of the WR’s. No block; No rock. #dabears #BaldysBreakdowns t.co/OA7qSuJ67U
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 23, 2026 His all-around game was so great that it got the Mic’d Up treatment:Caleb Williams gave Rome Odunze some encouraging words after his penalty, and Rome responded in a major way ?️ @insidethenfl Week 7 Mic’d Up on X t.co/O786FAuTAv
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2026Odunze hasn’t recaptured the magic from his torrid four-game start at the beginning of the 2025 season when he caught 20 passes for 296 receiving yards and five touchdowns. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still be an important part of this offense. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams believes in Odunze, which is why he doesn’t shy away from targeting his fellow 2024 first-round pick in big moments.
This is a homecoming of sorts for Odunze, who played collegiately at Washington. What I’d love to see here is Odunze stack a second consecutive solid game. It doesn’t have to be a game with 10+ catches or 100+ yards. But it needs to be a performance that makes us believe that he can consistently put together strong efforts. Doing so in back-to-back games would be a nice step in the right direction.
SAM ROUSH, TIGHT END
How the Bears plan on running their offense without Cole Kmet is the storyline that has flown under the radar (but shouldn’t have) from this past week. Kmet, who suffered a serious knee injury in Week 7, was an important piece of the offensive puzzle. The Notre Dame product wore a lot of hats in this offense. He was a solid blocker, an available pass-catcher in the middle of the field or as a safety valve, and his leadership as an elder statesman can’t be quantified. Losing him to injured reserve because of a knee injury stinks.
That said, the show goes on. The Bears are left to turn to whoever is left on the depth chart. First up, Sam Roush. When exploring Chicago’s tight end options, this is what I had to say about the rookie:
As colleague Patrick Flowers pointed out in Friday’s Bears Bits, Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson believes this rookie tight end is trending in the right direction. “We’ve been very pleased with the improvements he’s made over the first few weeks,” Johnson said on Friday. “He has some rookie hiccups, like everybody does, but he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.” Roush’s Soldier Field debut was awful. And it’s not as if he has been great in the games since. Still, it feels like there is nowhere to go but up for the Stanford product. This is a major opportunity for him. I hope he takes advantage of it.
When the Bears drafted Roush, I thought it opened the door for an offensive philosophical shift. Having three useful tight ends could allow the Bears to lean into 12 personnel (1 RB, 1 WR, 2 TE) and 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE) packages on offense. But with Kmet out of the picture, that seems in jeopardy. How does Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson make up for this loss? Well, it begins with Roush. If he plays well, then an increase in snaps will come his way. But if he doesn’t play well, the Bears will have to pivot.
Maybe a pivot means more 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) for this offense. Perhaps this means offensive linemen such as Luke Newman get more time as part of jumbo packages. How long would it take Jeffery Simmons to learn this offense? The guy has experience in the red zone and could be a real weapon.
Aug 22, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Sam Roush (87) after a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn ImagesMALIK MUHAMMAD, CORNERBACK
Malik Muhammad is questionable to play in Week 8 because of a toe injury he suffereed in the team’s Week 7 win against the Patriots. Perhaps the extended layoff between TNF in Week 7 and MNF in Week 8 will be enough for Muhammad to get the green light to play. If he does, then it woudl give the Bears a puncher’s chance at defending Seahawks star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Before Chicago’s Week 7 game, I wondered how the Bears’ defense would slow down Pats star receiver A.J. Brown. Malik Muhammad had the answer:
It’s me.
— Malik Muhammad II (@Returnof7) October 23, 2026To be clear, I’m not saying that Muhammad will put the clamps on JSN if healthy. But he has the best chance of anyone in Chicago’s secondary to provide enough resistance to keep him from going nuclear. You can’t stop Smith-Njigba, you can only hope to contain him.
THEO BENEDET, LEFT TACKLE
Even after Ozzy Trapilo made his 2026 debut in Week 6 against the Falcons, Theo Benedet has remained Chicago’s starting left tackle. How much longer that lasts remains to be seen. But if Benedet can play well against a highly touted Seahawks defense, it would certainly help his case. At a minimum, it would be nice to see Benedet maintain a respectable level of play.
Benedet’s 75.1 run-blocking grade ranks 13th of 69 offensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics. Meanwhile, ESPN’s pass-block win rate ranks Benedet (93% PBWR) as the second-best in this category. So even if (when?) Trapilo takes over as the full-time left tackle, Benedet should have a role in this offense. Maybe he could take some of the blocking snaps that would have otherwise gone to Kmet. Just something to think about.
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