The Chicago Bears didn’t have many believers when the 2025 season began and that bandwagon got even thinner when they fell to 0-2 in their first two games. However, led by head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams, the team kick-started a miraculous turnaround that eventually featured six 4th-quarter comebacks, culminating in an 11-6 record. This won them the NFC North for the first time in seven years and a playoff berth. They went on to beat the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round.
Was that enough to earn some confidence from experts this year? That depends on who you ask. Some believe the Bears’ success last season was too fluky. They can’t rely on being able to come back that many times against and can’t expect the defense to lead the league in turnovers. One would think this would lead to some tepid record predictions. Surprisingly, that is not the case. NFL.com’s Tom Blair ran through the Bears’ entire schedule and has them finishing 11-6 again, sparked by a stellar seven-game win streak after the bye. What gave him the confidence to do this?
The Chicago Bears still have Johnson and Williams.
“A 2-4 start to the year will have Bears doomers dancing about the unsustainability of last season’s success, which relied plenty on takeaways and comebacks. They might even forget just how good Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams looked together, including when they were pushing the Rams to the wire in the playoffs. To me, that duo gives Chicago a pretty solid eight-win floor. After that, your expectations will probably hinge on whether or not you think the Bears can pull off two or three more, and I do: back-to-back victories over the participants in Super Bowl LX, including a prime-time road triumph over the defending champs, and a Thanksgiving Day win over Detroit to set up the first season sweep of that series for Chicago since 2021.”
The Bears will go as their offense goes.
Most of the focus this offseason has been on trying to help Dennis Allen and the defense. Some important additions were made such as safeties Coby Bryant and 1st round pick Dillon Thieneman. Linebacker Devin Bush arrived as a free agent, while cornerback Malik Muhammad and defensive tackle Jordan Van Den Berg provide exciting youth to their respective positions. Still, it hasn’t erased concerns about the team’s pass rush. Unless that somehow fixes itself this year, the defense won’t be entering top 10 territory.
As Blair surmised, this season will go through Johnson and Williams. They carried the load last season and are well-positioned to do so again. The offense has firepower across the board. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden should form a dynamic tandem at wide receiver. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai remain at running back after helping the Chicago Bears rank 3rd in rushing last season. Yet the true strength of this team might be its tight ends. Colston Loveland emerged as a star down the stretch last season, while Cole Kmet remained as steady and dependable as ever.
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Throw promising rookie Sam Roush into that mix, and it’s hard to imagine many teams stopping the Bears.
Johnson faces a tough challenge.
The Bears have made the playoffs two years in a row only one time in the past 34 years. That came in 2005 and 2006 when they won back-to-back division titles and reached the Super Bowl. They did that with an elite defense and a strong running game. The problem was that they also got help from a largely weak division. Detroit was terrible, Minnesota was in upheaval, and Green Bay was in the midst of an identity crisis with an aging Brett Favre. There will be no such benefits this time. The NFC North remains stacked with good teams.
The Packers made the playoffs.
Detroit swept the Bears in the regular season last year.
Minnesota almost did the same and just added Kyler Murray at quarterback.
How Johnson navigates those six matchups will determine everything about this season. He certainly won’t be intimidated by the challenge. It comes down to how much he can help Williams improve as a quarterback. Beating good teams requires more than just explosive plays. You need efficiency. That is the primary goal for this season. If Williams can learn to play the chess game and become more of a distributor, the Bears will take control of far more games early.
