Rome Odunze headlines duds in Bears thrilling 47-42 Week 9 win over Bengals

If you missed Sunday's Week 9 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears, you probably did your heart a favor. From the very beginning, this was a back-and-forth affair that saw 8 lead changes, including two in the final minute of regulation. The Bears began Week 9 in the worst possible way, by giving up a kickoff return touchdown to Cincinnati's Charlie Jones, spotting the Bengals a 7-0 lead.

The game only got more chaotic from there, with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams flexing some trick plays early and a Bengals challenge leading to a Bears touchdown later in the fourth quarter. Through it all, the Bears persevered and got the win.

However, not everyone managed to pull their weight on Sunday, and some performances very nearly sunk the team. Here are three duds from the Bears' thrilling Week 9 win.

1. Rome Odunze

For all the talk about whether Caleb Williams is living up to the standard of a No. 1 overall pick, a conversation needs to be had about Rome Odunze. The No. 9 pick from the 2024 NFL draft was a ghost on Sunday, recording not a single catch on three targets. Making matters worse, he had two brutal drops: one on Chicago's opening drive that would have gone for a big gain, and later in the game he dropped another ball in the endzone.

That's been a persistent problem for Odunze this year, the concentration drops. This was supposed to be his biggest strength in the NFL. Indeed, in 2023 he led college football in contested catches. For whatever reason, however, he's just not getting it done in the NFL.

Has every ball from Williams been perfect? No, but Odunze still needs to help his quarterback out and make some tough catches. He started 2025 with a bang but has not played anywhere near the standard of a Top 10 pick over the last few games.

Caleb Williams was PISSED after Rome Odunze dropped this touchdown pass.

Who is at fault here? 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/EhCYUUhwc0
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) November 2, 2025

2. Special Teams

Was it a mistake to retain special teams coordinator Richard Hightower? It's starting to look like one. Chicago's special teams unit was an unmitigated disaster on Sunday. They gave up a kickoff return touchdown followed by a return to midfield. Cairo Santos missed one field goal attempt in the first quarter (a defensive penalty bailed him out on this one) and then another later in the game.

Finally, this unit very nearly gave the game away when they allowed the Bengals to recover the onside kick. Inexcusable, atrocious play all around from this unit. The only saving grace was punter Tory Taylor, who boomed an incredible 71-yard punt in the second quarter, flipping the field at a crucial juncture.

Tory Taylor unloads a 71-yard punt.

Career high and complete flips field position pic.twitter.com/i1k9xTwdey
— Dave (@dave_bfr) November 2, 2025

3. Secondary

I know Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are good receivers, and I know they're ravaged by injuries, but holy cow. This unit gave up 470 yards of offense to Joe Flacco and the Bengals passing game and put up virtually no resistance at all in the 4th quarter. When the Bengals scored 15 unanswered points in the game's final minutes, it was as if Chicago's secondary wasn't even on the field.

Every player from that position group owes a massive 'thank you' to Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland for saving their bacon.