Luther Burden III is turning into a ‘problem child’ for Chicago, and there’s still more the Bears can get out of him and others in this offense
Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III took over the first-half of Thursday night’s game, while Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland made huge plays of their own to close out the win.
The Chicago Bears had another exciting primetime game, and another 30+ point outing for head coach Ben Johnson’s offense. A game that was fueled by a strong first-half by wide receiver Luther Burden III.
But, it wasn’t just Burden. It was another complete game by the entire offense, and all three phases of the team going up against the reigning AFC champions.
And before we dive further into it, sure. Let’s go back to Burden real quick and talk about the spark that ignited the fire on Thursday night.
Luther Burden III had his 2026 breakout game against the Patriots, and there’s even more he can do
The Bears clearly had a plan in place to get Burden involved early in this game against the Patriots. I mean, Chicago’s first offensive play was a 26-yard completion to Burden. On the second drive, Burden had another catch-and-run opportunity over the middle that he turned into a 58-yard play and nearly a touchdown if it wasn’t for Kevin Byard III.
Just before halftime, Burden took a screen pass 24-yards to the house untouched putting his first-half total at four receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. He was an absolute problem for New England’s secondary.
“What’s always stood out about him is he’s elite with the ball in his hands,” Johnson said on Monday. “It’s just a matter of how can we get it to him – certainly not at a level where we are predictable either – we don’t want it to just be screens or underneath routes. He’s got more to his game than that. He’s got more speed than that, too.”
The Bears were finding multiple ways to get Burden the football, including a seven-yard jet sweep. However, there’s still another area of his game he showed off last season that the Bears haven’t dabbled back into through the first seven games of this season.
“Last year, we were able to get him over the top a couple of times,” Johnson added. “Which was great to see. He’s got that ability. I don’t think we’ve done that quite yet this year, and yet that’d be a great thing to tap into. I’m encouraged by what I see with his intermediate routes and the details he’s playing with in that regards.”
I vividly remember the downfield touchdown Burden scored against the Dallas Cowboys off the flea-flicker and other explosive touchdown he had on a deep pass against the San Francisco 49ers. If the Bears start getting that going again, he’s going to be impossible for teams to defend against.
“When I get the ball, it’s going to be a problem,” Burden said. “Especially with too much space — might go the distance.”
Luther Burden III is far from the only weapon on this offense, and rest of Thursday’s game showed that
The craziest part of Burden’s 2026 breakout game is that he didn’t have a single target in the second-half. The Patriots did a much better job keeping him contained in coverage, but that allowed the other play-makers within this offense to step up and make plays of their own.
“I thought all of our pass catchers stepped up and had some big nights,” Johnson explained. “Luther started us off with a big spark there early. Then Colston (Loveland) kind of took it in the middle. Then Rome (Odunze) came through with some big ones there at the end that were huge for us.”
That just goes to show how dangerous this group can be. It can be any game, any drive, and any play that one of these weapons comes through in a big way. They pride themselves in being a selfless bunch and that shows with the way they block for each other and the way they react when the ball isn’t coming their way.
That’s rare in the NFL. It just adds even more to the culture the Bears have created and the kind of players they’ve made a point to bring into the building. Burden had his shining moment on Thursday, next week it could be Loveland, or Odunze, or Swift, or Kalif Raymond, or Burden again… You see the point I’m making. And with Caleb Williams at quarterback, he’s going to do his part to make sure everyone gets involved.
“Luther’s a problem child,” Williams said. “And we want to keep getting the ball in his hands. I heard that he’s 17-for-17 when the ball’s thrown to him so far this season. We’ve got other guys that make plays. Obviously, Rome and Colston get in the end zone. Luther gets in the end zone. So we’ve got a tandem over here on this side and so we’re going to keep using him. We’re going to keep getting explosive. We’re going to keep having fun.”
