Malik Muhammad Gets High Praise as Ben Johnson Discusses Bears' Secondary Studs & Duds

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson praised three different members of the secondary from Week 1, but he also talked about two who struggled.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) runs with the ball while defended by Chicago Bears cornerback Malik Muhammad II (24) in the fourth quarter against the at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears wowed the NFL world on Sunday afternoon when they exploded for 59 points against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 in what was a historic win for the franchise.

But it wasn't all great for the Bears, who saw a less than ideal (to put it nicely) showing from the defense, and especially from the secondary, which got burnt for 361 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Bryce Young.

On Monday, head coach Ben Johnson discussed three players who stood out for positive reasons in the secondary, and two others who did not.

Among the two players who stood out in Johnson's mind were Malik Muhammad, Cam Lewis and Dillon Thieneman.

High praise for Muhammad, Lewis, Thieneman

Chicago Bears cornerback Malik Muhammad (24) after a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Muhammad was sensastional in his debut after allowing a 55.6% completion rate and 39.8 passer rating when targeted in Week 1. Muhammad notched a pair of passes defensed and came away with his first career interception in the contest while serving as Chicago's slot cornerback.

"He played really good football for his first day as well," Johnson said of Muhammad. "Sticky in coverage, competed his tail off, fearless. Was really proud of what he put on tape."

Johnson was thrilled with what he saw out of his safeties, Cam Lewis and Dillon Thieneman. Lewis in particular did not know he was going to start at safety until the morning of the game, when Bears decided to make Xavier Woods inactive due to his injury.

"Dillon had a great start to his career. I thought he was all over the field," Johnson said. "Point in case, though, he was all over the place, did a great job stopping the football when he had an opportunity to do so."

"Kudos to Cam Lewis really next to (Thieneman), as well, because he went into the day not even knowing he was going to start for us at safety," he said. "We worked out Xavier Woods that morning and when we decided to make him inacitve, Cam became our starter at safety and played really, really well."

Johnson, Stevenson struggled

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (18) runs with the ball while defended by Chicago Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson (29) in the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the not so good side of things were Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson, both of whom struggled.

Stevenson allowed a pair of touchdowns and gave up a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and 77 yards. He was responsible for the long touchdown catch for Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker.

As for Johnson, he gave up the most receiving yards on the team with 127, and did so at a 25.4 yards-per-reception clip.

Johnson's passer rating allowed was 113.7 and he had the third-worst Pro Football Focus coverage grade (41.5) after Stevenson (39.1) and T.J. Edwards (36.1).

“They were excited that the team won the game and both of them felt like they could play better than they did. We got a chance next week to come back and start all over again and play better. I expect that out of them," Johnson said.

The start Chicago's starting cornerbacks got off to is concerning after both had issues in 2025. Stevenson's seat in particular is hot, and especially after Muhammad played as well as he did. If Kyler Gordon makes it back and resumes his slot cornerback roles, Stevenson might get replaced by the rookie.