Carson Wentz, 2nd overall 2016. (23 years, 256 days). 1st game, 29-10 home win over Browns. 22 for 37 passing for 278 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 101.0 ratring. Jameis Winston, 1st overall 2015. (21 years, 250 days). 1st game, 42-14 home loss to Titans. 16 for 33 passing for 210 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 64.0 rating. Marcus Mariota, 2nd overall 2015. (21 years, 318 days). 1st game, 42-14 road win over Bucs. 13 for 15 passing for 209 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 158.3 rating. Blake Bortles, 3rd overall 2014. (22 years, 153 days). 2nd game, 33-14 road loss to Chargers. 29 for 37 passing for 254 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 818 rating. Andrew Luck, 1st overall 2012. (22 years, 363 days). 1st game, 41-21 road loss to Bears. 23 for 45 passing for 309 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 52.9 rating. Robert Griffin III, 2nd overall 2012. (22 years, 210 days). 1st game, 40-32 road win over Saints. 19 for 26 passing for 320 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 139.9 rating. Cam Newton, 1st overall 2011. (22 years, 123 days). 1st game, 28-21 road loss at Cardinals. 24 for 37 passing for 422 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 110.4 rating. Sam Bradford, 1st overall 2010. (22 years, 308 days). 1st game, 17-13 home loss to Cardinals. 32 for 55 passing for 253 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 53.1 rating. Matthew Stafford, 1st overall 2009. (21 years, 218 days). 1st game, 45-27 road loss to Saints. 16 for 37 passing for 205 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 27.4 rating. What’s the key to success? Take for example the two quarterbacks selected at the top of the draft last year. It’s about surrounding them with better talent. The Eagles added Alshon Jeffery in free agency and while some have knocked his numbers – 38 targets, 20 catches, 246 yards, 12.3 average, two touchdowns – he’s drawing coverage from the opponent’s No. 1 cornerback most of the time and he’s commanding safety help over the top. All of a sudden Nelson Agholor, who looked like a bust at the end of last season, is playing well. Newcomer Torrey Smith is producing. The Eagles are much better on the outside and you’re seeing Wentz play well. Of course, another factor is right tackle Lane Johnson is back from the suspension he served last season and that’s made the line better. In Los Angeles, Jared Goff looks like a completely different player. The Rams totally revamped the wide receiver position, signing Robert Woods in free agency, trading for Sammy Watkins (who is driven to produce in a contract year) and drafting Cooper Kupp. Yes, Goff has better coaching this year too but it’s more about the talent around him than the coaching. It’s hard for quarterbacks to win in the NFL if they don’t have players around them to bail them out. I’ve written it previously and I’ll continue to write it the rest of this year and into the offseason: Expect Ryan Pace to take a two-pronged approach to wide receivers. The Bears will be active in free agency seeking a wide receiver and they’ll target receivers high in the draft. No one needs to tell me or you that. It’s common sense. 3. The loss of outside linebacker Willie Young to a triceps injury that is expected to require surgery is another blow for the Bears, who had too many storylines related to injuries last season and have been hit with some significant losses already. The Bears are far from being the most injured team in the league this season. They will play at Baltimore this coming Sunday and the Ravens have 16 players on injured reserve currently. Baltimore’s offensive line has been decimated and the Ravens lost their best lineman in Pro Bowl guard Marshall Yanda. The Bears’ issues that have been compounded at wide receiver by injuries have been well documented. The front seven has been weakened now. Inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman was lost for the season with a torn pec muscle. His replacement Nick Kwiatkoski is rehabbing his way back from a similar injury that fortunately is not as serious. Now, Young is out and what can’t be understated here is the Bears already knew that outside linebacker was going to be one of the top priorities this coming offseason with wide receiver and potentially cornerback also in that mix. The Bears crossed their fingers and hoped they could make it through this season with a veteran trio of Young, Pernell McPhee and Sam Acho, along with 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd, who has been dealing with a back injury and was underwhelming before breaking out with two sacks in an impressive effort against Vikings right tackle Mike Remmers. The problem is McPhee is a part-time player with bad knees and expecting him to provide even 50 percent of the snaps the rest of the way would be taking a major leap of faith. Acho got major run in the opener against the Falcons but his playing time was greatly reduced in Week 3 against the Steelers (two snaps) and Week 4 at Green Bay (six snaps). Acho doesn’t offer much in the way of a pass rush and that creates an issue for the defense. He was forced to play a lot more against the Vikings.

Young has arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. He led the defense with 7 ½ sacks last season when he played on the hobbled knee and with a large brace on his arm to help endure a sprained elbow. He also had hip issues that might eventually need to be fixed. The point is Young has battled through a lot to be productive for the Bears and now at 32 he’s got an issue that’s going to cost him 12 games and could put his Bears’ future in jeopardy. There isn’t an upside to losing a player like Young but the Bears have a couple young players on the roster they can evaluate. If they work, great. If not, move on and keep looking. The first up is Isaiah Irving, an undrafted rookie free agent from San Jose State and he shined a little in preseason late in games (playing against guys that are mostly out of the league now) with a team-high three sacks. Irving was told on Friday he would be promoted from the practice squad and he got two snaps on special teams. Last week, the Bears signed Howard Jones to the practice squad. He represents another option. Jones, 27, joined the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2014 from Shepherd and he spent two training camps with Pittsburgh, so he’s worked a little at outside linebacker. From there, Jones was signed by the Buccaneers and played two seasons as a defensive end in Tampa Bay, recording five sacks in 20 games over two seasons. Those are two in-house options that will be worth a look at practice and maybe in games moving forward. Another option is former Bears outside linebacker Lamarr Houston, who was waived at final cutdowns with a two-week injury settlement. The Bears paid Houston $700,000 (2/17 of his $5.95 million base salary). Clubs now have to wait only three weeks beyond the period of the settlement, in Houston’s case two weeks, to potentially re-sign a player that was waived/injured. That means the Bears can bring Houston back as soon as this week. Whether they opt to go that route remains to be seen. Houston knows the defense and could be plugged in immediately. The Bears certainly would not pay him what he was scheduled to make this season. That’s one option that doesn’t involve young players that Fangio might not be completely comfortable with. Houston has had at least three workouts with other teams since the start of the season. He’s gotten looks from the Saints and Patriots and was reportedly in Tampa Bay on Monday. Multiple reports indicate he will visit the Texans on Tuesday and that seems like a good chance for a fit when you consider Houston lost J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus to season-ending injuries Sunday night in a loss to the Chiefs. Personally, I think Houston offers more upside on defense than Acho but durability has been an issue and it was clear as preseason unfolded that the Bears weren’t high on Houston as he was playing late in the games with the third-teamers. Acho does provide value on special teams. The other thing? If given the choice, you’d imagine Houston would prefer to sign with a team that has a better record than the Bears. For now, I like the idea of seeing if Irving can be developed. “I believe I am ready,” Irving said. “One thing they said I needed to improve on after preseason was my run defense. So, that is definitely something I have been improving on. That and my hands. They said I was a little bit late and I have been improving getting my hands a little bit faster in the pass rush. Just pretty much the overall game. I am going against the ones every day in practice so I am going to get better.” I pointed out that Irving’s three sacks in preseason came against a lot of guys that aren’t playing in the NFL right now and that’s why he said the last month was good for him going against the best linemen on his own team. We’ll see if he can work his way into the mix if defensive coordinator Vic Fangio trusts him. 4. The most disappointing thing coming out of the game, at least from my perspective, was the botched opportunity to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Vikings’ 38-yard line midway through the first quarter. It was a scoreless game and why not show some faith in the running backs or the mobile quarterback? The Bears burned a timeout and coming out of that they sent the punting team on the field before pulling a switch and running them off and the offense on. The problem was the K ball had to be put on the field when the punting team came on and then officials had to scramble to change the ball. The result was a delay of game penalty that then forced the Bears to go ahead and punt. “There isn’t much I can say about officiating, but there wasn’t a ball out there. It’s kind of hard to play without a ball,” coach John Fox said. “We were trying to keep them off guard. It was 4th and probably really 2 and not 1. But at the end of it all, we got the delay because there was no ball there.” Said quarterback Mitch Trubisky: “I was assuming we were going for it because that’s what it seemed like we were doing. And then I was just waiting for a call on the headset. There seemed to be confusion on the sidelines. I don’t know exactly what happened, but we just need to be better in our whole operation: Better at the line of scrimmage, better at getting in and out of huddles, really pushing the tempo. Those are simple things we can work on in practice. That’s what we need to do. Those kind of things can’t be happening. I don’t think you can point a finger at any one person. I think everyone should take ownership, as far as coaches and players. That’s simple things that we should be on top of. We’ll improve that this week, for sure.” I get the idea of trying to confuse the Vikings but the Bears could have called a play they liked during the timeout and gone out with the offense and ran it. Pick up a first down there and maybe they go down and score a touchdown. 5. Through Week 5, I’m going to bet Pat O’Donnell is the only punter in the league that has the longest pass play for his team. That’s what O’Donnell’s toss to Benny Cunningham on the fake punt resulted in – a 38-yard gain that went for a touchdown.

The Bears spent a lot of time working on the play during practice this week and it’s a fake that has been in for two years, according to O’Donnell. They were looking for a situation where the Vikings would leave their defense on the field, which they did, knowing the tendency was Minnesota would rush the punter hard. That’s what happened and Cunningham was uncovered when Danielle Hunter went right past him upfield. “We talked about it all week,” Cunningham said. “(Special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers) said it will be you and the punter. I had it in my mind just catch the ball first. At the worst-case scenario, get the offense back on the field. Once I saw I had the opportunity to make a bigger play, I’m just glad that it worked out for us. “The preparation by the punt team, special teams throughout the week, just glad to see that pay off on game day. Pat was patient. Throughout the week we talked, missed it a couple times. Did some extra reps at it (Sunday). I was telling him, ‘Don’t think about it. Just let it go. Make it as simple as possible. Whatever happens, happens.’ O’Donnell said it was the first time he has completed a pass in a game – ever. “It is an amazing feeling,” O’Donnell said. “We run it so much in practice we’ve had it in for two years. They gave us the look and coach Rodgers made a great play call. “(You don’t know it will work) until he catches it, right? That was the look we needed and Benny Cunningham made a couple guy miss and he wasn’t getting denied. That’s for sure. I mean, hopefully every guy on the field can make that throw, 10-yard little dump.” If the play looked familiar, it should. They tried essentially the same fake at the 2-minute warning against the Chargers in Week 11 of the 2011 season at Soldier Field. Punter Adam Podlesh had safety Craig Steltz running uncovered but the throw was just a little too long. The only difference is Steltz was delayed just a little releasing off the line of scrimmage by San Diego’s Dante Hughes and Cunningham got free from Hunter immediately. “We were just trying to rush the punter on that one,” Hunter said. “That’s basically what it is. We are supposed to rush the punter on that one. When (O’Donnell) stood back there like this (holds ball up by his ear) that’s when we realize, ‘Oh (shoot).’” 6. One notable change for the Bears on offense this season is that coordinator Dowell Loggains has been working on the sideline. He spent last year in the coach’s booth, radioing the calls down to the sideline where they were signaled into Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley as the Bears rotated through quarterbacks. “It was really the quarterbacks’ request,” Loggains said. “I planned on being upstairs and didn’t think anything of it. Mitchell (Trubisky) and Mike (Glennon) both said, ‘Hey, we’d rather you be on the sideline, be able to talk to you and go through the pictures together and do those things.’ That’s the biggest reason.” There are trade-offs with each location. In the box, the play caller can be insulated from the hustle and bustle on the sideline. It also provides a good vantage point to see what coverages and substitution patterns the opponent is using. On the sideline, the play caller can have direct face-to-face communication with the quarterback. “Sometimes in the passing game on the far side it’s hard to see,” Loggains said of calling a game from the sideline. “But at practice, I work really hard to stay on the sideline so you always have that view of what it’s like on the field and you get used to it.” Loggains leans heavily on offensive assistant John Dunn, who is in the box. Dunn, who often works with fullbacks in practice, lets Loggains know pertinent information. “He does a really good job with the coverages, down and distance, all those things,” Loggains said. “As soon as they make a change, he’s saying, ‘They’re coming in nickel.’” 7. Tre McBride, promoted from the practice squad earlier in the week, got ample playing time and while he only had one catch for 18 yards, he came down with a really nice 26-yard reception on the first possession that was negated by a holding penalty on center Cody Whitehair. McBride has some straight line speed and is an interesting prospect. I was told by scouts when the Bears claimed him off waivers that he has the ability to make some wow catches and the downside is he can have concentration drops. Haven’t seen the drops from him but he competed well and likely will earn some more playing time. He’s been learning all of the positions but is concentrating primarily at Z. “More comfortable with the playbook,” he said. “Not as comfortable as I want to be but it’s getting there. I feel if I get the chance, I will be able to show the staff and the coaches here that they made the right decision to claim me and bring me to the team. Hopefully the special teams snaps come as well because I love playing special teams. Even that opportunity would be a great chance to show.” 8. Former Bears offensive lineman Roberto Garza continues to work for ESPN Deportes as an in-studio analyst for “Monday Night Football.” The network is simulcasting the ESPN Deportes feed on ESPN2 for the first 10 games of the season, giving the bilingual Garza expanded opportunities. En route to Bristol, Conn., on Sunday, Garza talked about his second season working as an analyst as he prepared for the Vikings-Bears game. “It’s been fun to be on the show,” Garza said from Washington Dulles International Airport. “I continue to try and get better in this new chapter in my career. I’m still learning and I have a long way to go. This isn’t something I ever studied for or did anything to prepare for when my career ended so it’s a process and I enjoy it. I keep trying to get better and I keep working on my Spanish. Talking football in Spanish … football to me was always in English so it is something I still have to work on.” He touched on a few Bears’ topics:

On center Cody Whitehair: “The kid is getting better. He had a solid year last season and obviously in your second year you have to grow from that. It’s tough when you’re moving to different positions. The inside three, playing guard and center is similar, but there are still a lot of different techniques you have to deal with. I like the way he plays center. I thought he had a hell of a year as a rookie.” On former teammate Kyle Long now that he’s back in action: “I am just glad to see him back on the field and out there playing right guard again. That’s a big bonus. You add him in there and you have Josh Sitton on the left side and I think they have a pretty good group when they’re all in there playing together. Kyle is a physical guy that will battle for you every single play. I hope they give those guys a chance to go out there and establish the run game. They have two elite runners right now and they need to take advantage of that. The issues they are having right now on the outside with the receivers, you’ve got to give those guys a chance to go out there and pound the football. When you have a rookie quarterback, that’s what you want to lean on, the offensive line.” On rookie running back Tarik Cohen: “That kid is explosive. You can’t put him quite in the Devin Hester category quite yet but he is doing some things that are a lot like Devin when he came out. When he touches the ball, he has the speed, the quickness and the vision that when he’s in open space, look out. He’s impressive and it’s fun to watch.” On his excitement level for the Bears with a first-round pick at quarterback in Mitch Trubisky: “You have a kid that looked good in preseason. This is the regular season and it’s a lot different. The kid is obviously talented and they went after him for a reason. It’s going to be fun to watch him grow and he is going to make some mistakes but the offensive line and receivers have to step up.” 9. The Bears have zero interceptions through five games. They’re not alone. The Raiders don’t have a pick and the Dolphins (who have played only four games) are also without an interception. The Bears have faced 159 pass attempts compared to 147 for the Raiders and 135 for the Dolphins. This is an ongoing issue and cannot be ignored. The Bears had only eight interceptions last season and eight in 2015. That represents the franchise-low for a 16-game season going back to 1978. The only other time they have been in single-digits is when they had nine interceptions in 2002. That is a contributing reason to why they are minus-9 in turnover ratio, last in the NFL. It’s one of the most telling statistics when it comes to wins and losses and Mike Glennon’s turnover issues were problematic. The defense’s inability to produce takeaways is similarly problematic. You can’t bench the entire defense like you can a quarterback. 10. I’m not sure what to make of the Bears bringing Roberto Aguayo back in for a tryout this past week. I get it that the team wants to update it’s free-agent list after Connor Barth missed two field goals – both wide right from 47 yards – but the continued interest in Aguayo is a little puzzling to me. “Recent information is better than old information,” special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said when asked about the tryout that also involved former Chargers kicker Josh Lambo. “Any time you can get a look at different guys, it's good information to have.” It’s almost as if the Bears gave Aguayo some homework to do after he was waived during final cuts and wanted to see how he completed it. You wonder if the Bears believe they can fix Aguayo, who flamed out in Tampa Bay quickly. I understand wanting to see what Lambo can do and other kickers that haven’t been to Halas Hall previously would make sense. The Bears would really be extending themselves if they were to take a chance with Aguayo in the event they want to replace Barth. If Aguayo struggles, the rest of the league is going to look at them and say, “You couldn’t figure out it wasn’t going to work the first time?” The Bears are on the hook for the $428,000 guaranteed in Aguayo’s contract for this season unless he’s picked up by another club. Maybe that’s part of the reasoning in keeping close tabs on him but, in my estimation, they’re better off looking elsewhere. The Bucs still have their own kicking issues. Aguayo’s replacement Nick Folk has failed badly and Tampa replaced him with a former Bucs kicker on Monday. No, Aguayo wasn’t re-signed. The Bucs brought back Patrick Murray, who made 20 of 24 field goals in 2014 before losing the gig in 2015 when he suffered a knee injury. 10 a. That marked only the third time the Vikings have won at Soldier Field since the remodeled stadium was opened in 2003. 10 b. It looked like Everson Griffen might have guessed the snap count on his sack/strip of Mitch Trubisky but the Vikings defensive end told me he was just watching the ball. He really fired out of his stance and was immediately by left tackle Charles Leno. “I had a lot of self-inflicted plays, self-inflicted wounds where in the red zone a few times we set ourselves back,” Leno said. “We start the first play of the drive and there is a sack/fumble by me. Those things change the game. That’s the way it goes. He had a hell of a jump on the snap but I have to do a better job of finishing at the top and run him by. It doesn’t matter what he did, I’ve got to do better.” 10 c. Everson Griffen was impressed with Mitch Trubisky: “He played well. They came out with a gameplan, run heavy, play action and get the ball out quick, triggery plays and they really didn’t let us pin our ears back. You gotta feel him. You gotta figure him out. You can’t run past him. You’ve got to power downhill, get to him. But they got the ball out quick the whole game. I think we got that one dropback pass where I got the sack. Besides that they really didn’t let us rush.” 10 d. Linebacker John Timu left the stadium with a walking boot on his left ankle and crutches. He will undergo testing on Tuesday to determine the nature of the injury. 10 e. The Ravens opened as a 7-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium. They haven’t played there since 2009 when a massive snowstorm paralyzed the city. bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com