Bears coordinators Dennis Allen (defense), Press Taylor (offense) and Richard Hightower (special teams) spoke to the media Thursday at Halas Hall. Here are seven things we learned from those sessions:

(1) Allen is pleased with the steady progress that rookie safety Dillon Thieneman is making.

The first-round pick, who leads the Bears with 23 tackles through three games, delivered his most impressive performance to date in Monday night's win over the Eagles, recording his first NFL interception and a team-leading six tackles.

The pick capped a sequence of three plays that showcased Thieneman's speed and play-making ability. First, he raced from the middle of the field to the sideline to shove running back Saquon Barkley out of bounds at the 1. Two plays later, Thieneman helped tackle Barkley for no gain at the 2 before intercepting an Andy Dalton pass in the back of the end zone.

"Each and every day, each and every week, he continues to improve," Allen said. "He's starting to get a better feel for the defense, a better feel for how the offense is trying to attack us. He's becoming the guy that we thought that he would be when we evaluated him college.

"I think any time you have a guy that's got the speed and the range back there, they kind of become an eraser. They eliminate explosive plays. He's still in the early part of his development. I think there's still a lot of growth left for him."

(2) Allen is not surprised that the Bears have continued to generate takeaways despite losing defenders who accounted for 19 of their 23 interceptions last year.

After leading the NFL with 33 takeaways in 2026, the Bears are producing them at the same rate with six in three games, tied for third most in the league.

Thieneman's interception was one of three takeaways against the Eagles. The others came on a T.J. Edwards interception and an Austin Booker forced fumble that was recovered by Xavier Woods.

"I think a ton of it is that you have to live, sleep, eat and breathe taking the ball away every single day," Allen said. "Now that doesn't guarantee that you're going to get them. But if you're not doing that, then it's highly unlikely that you're going to get those takeaways.

"So, we really focus on that. We talk about it every day. We go out and practice that way. And I think that shows up in the games. Our guys believe in it … Our guys have bought into that culture and done a good job of that."

(3) Allen is happy to have cornerback Kyler Gordon back on the practice field.

After being designated to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, the 2022 second-round pick was a full participant in Wednesday's walkthrough and Thursday's practice.

Gordon missed all of training camp, the preseason and the first three regular-season games with a calf injury. Last year he was limited to three contests by injuries before returning to play in both playoff games against the Packers and Rams.

"He's got to ramp up and get himself into football shape," Allen said. "We did a little extra work with him [Wednesday]. I thought he looked good. The way he went out there and practiced was good to see. He moved around really well."

In opening Gordon's practice window, the Bears now have three weeks to add him to their 53-man roster. The earliest they can activate him is Monday because players who open the season on the PUP list are required to sit out the first four games.

"We've got 21 days to figure it out and make a decision and we will use whatever time we need to evaluate where he's at," Allen said. "Hopefully, he'll be ready sooner rather than later. I think he's a player that can help us."

(4) Receiver Kalif Raymond is performing exactly how the Bears expected when they signed him in free agency.

Through Week 3, Raymond leads the team with 19 catches for 214 yards, the most in both categories in any three-game span in his nine-year NFL career. The speedy 5-8, 180-pounder spent time with the Broncos (2016), Jets (2017), Giants (2017) and Titans (2019-20) before blossoming with the Lions while working with Bears coach Ben Johnson and receivers coach Antwaan Randle El in Detroit.

"It's kind of what we knew about him," Taylor said. "We had guys that had been in the room with him and could speak to his leadership, his professionalism, all that. But then as we're learning the system that Ben's bringing with him, we're watching the teach tapes. He's all over the teach tape. He's a clinic tape. If there's a route on air, he's going to run it exactly the way you want, and then it carries over to a game and he's going to run exactly the way you want.

"You saw some trust [against the Eagles] … Case [Keenum] let a couple balls go where he's not out of the break yet because he's going to be where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there every time, and he has done that forever. So, he's a very trustworthy target from that standpoint. He's been exactly what we expected from the guys that had intel on him and the rest of us that didn't. It's just cool to see this guy. And he filled a void of leadership in that room with some veteran presence that we needed."

(5) Taylor provided some insight about the "sucker sneak" that resulted in Keenum's 1-yard TD burst versus Philadelphia.

Johnson described the play—in which both guards pull in opposite directions to the outside—as a "Mike Martz special" in reference to the longtime NFL coach who served as Bears offensive coordinator in 2010-11.

Taylor said he had seen clips of the play being run by four teams, including the Lions when Johnson was their offensive coordinator.

"There's not a lot," Taylor said. "We were most excited afterwards of now we've got our fifth clip to add to this tape of somebody doing it, succeeding with it. Case did a great job. The timing of it is very important. You don't want to just bury your head and go. You kind of pause for a second, think for a little bit … For that to hit in that situation was really cool for all of us."

(6) Taylor marveled at how well Keenum performed when blitzed by the Eagles.

The veteran quarterback completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two TDs in the game, including 11 of 11 for 145 yards and two TDs when blitzed.

"He knew and he trusted where his guys were going to be," Taylor said. "There was pressure, but the ball came out early to the right spot … A lot of it was just the mastery Case had of the game plan, the defense he was going against, trusting his guys around him to make those types of plays, and the guys delivered for him.

"That's the big part. You're throwing the ball with anticipation, you're throwing the ball early and guys are where they're supposed to be making those plays. You throw one early and the guy's not quite there and it ends up skipping in front of the guy, that can be deflating a little bit as a quarterback … We were just kind of in a rhythm the other night where those plays are just kind of hitting and it's easy to stick with it. You're on schedule playing in manageable down and distances, the playbook kind of remains open for you being able to dig through everything."

(7) Hightower praised All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney and other players for their willingness to join the field goal unit.

One week after the Bears had a 23-yard field goal attempt blocked against the Vikings, Thuney was added to the field goal team on the wing. There were no issues versus the Eagles, with Cairo Santos making field goals of 23 and 48 yards without a miss.

"We have guys fighting to get on the field goal team," Hightower said. "That field goal team was not happy with what happened the week before against Minnesota. They know it shouldn't have ever happened and they're very prideful.

"And Joe wasn't the only one that wanted to be involved. Dayo [Odeyingbo] wanted to be involved, [Montez] Sweat wanted to be involved. We've got leaders that wanted to be involved. I think that speaks to the culture that [general manager] Ryan [Poles] and Ben have created here where guys want to be out there and want to do it.

"That was the best field goal block unit in the NFL. They blocked the most kicks in the NFL, and our guys didn't like what happened [versus] Minnesota and they bowed up after what happened and they did a phenomenal job against that unit. Joe Thuney is a stud. In my mind, he's a Hall of Famer. A reason why he's going to be is because of the way he works. He was not a guy that was going to let anything happen. He did everything he could do to help us win that game and we just need more people like that."