Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson hates losing in general. Losing to the Green Bay Packers must especially burn him. So you can rest assured the Atlanta Falcons will be getting his best shot on Sunday. It won’t be easy. The Falcons have played much better football for the past month, riding Bijan Robinson and Drake London to major offensive success. Their defense has also been among the league’s best at stopping the run and applying pressure on the quarterback. Johnson can’t afford another down week in a pivotal NFC matchup.

Thankfully, there is one thing working to his advantage. He’s already seen the type of game plan he can deploy against the Falcons. That came courtesy of his former protege, Declan Doyler. The former Bears offensive coordinator took over the Baltimore Ravens’ offense this offseason and is having tons of success. His unit put up 30 points against Atlanta last Sunday night despite not having quarterback Lamar Jackson in the lineup. This was done through a creative game plan that used lots of misdirection in the running game and gave quarterback Tyler Huntley as many easy throws as possible.

Only three traveled beyond 15 yards through the air all game.

Ben Johnson runs a very similar style of offense.

Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky said as much on ESPN. Chicago does three specific things that the Falcons seemed to really struggle with against Baltimore. They didn’t defend the zone-running game well at all. The Ravens also had lots of success with screen passes. Last but not least, Baltimore receivers and tight ends took advantage of Atlanta’s poor tackling for yards after the catch. Chicago is 12th in the NFL with 568 yards after the catch. They’ve also had the second-most zone runs in the NFL this season with 106, trailing only the Falcons with 110.

What remains uncertain for Ben Johnson is what type of personnel he will have available on Sunday. Kyle Monangai has yet to practice as he still recovers from turf toe. D’Andre Swift also appears to be dealing with injuries of his own. The good news is the offensive line appears healthy, so the blocking should be good. Much depends on whether the running backs can take advantage. Roschon Johnson is not a good zone runner like Swift or Monangai. Perhaps that could mean somebody like Zavier Scott or Salvon Ahmed gets an opportunity. Both would also help in the screen game.

The task ahead is clear.

Johnson isn’t a fool. This will likely be a game where the Bears have to put up a lot of points to win. The defense is ailing badly. Montez Sweat was just suspended for two games. Dayo Odeyingbo and T.J. Edwards are likely to miss the game as well. Such losses will make it incredibly difficult to stop Atlanta’s loaded offense, led by Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Baltimore needed 30 points to secure a win. The Bears may need 35 or more if the defense plays anything like it did last week in Green Bay.

We know one thing. Johnson will be dialed in for this game. The Bears are averaging 28.83 points scored when coming off a loss under him. That should tell you Atlanta will be getting his best shot on Sunday. Doyle already provided the blueprint. All Johnson has to do is follow it, making minor adjustments to fit the personnel available.

The Chicago Bears have endured 5 years of contentious negotiations with the state of Illinois regarding a new stadium. Everything seems so easy when they bid on the Arlington Heights property. All they needed was some help with property taxes and infrastructure. Simple, right? They quickly learned that nothing is simple where Illinois politics are involved. Team president Kevin Warren was woefully unprepared for the challenge, demonstrating a clear inability to forge alliances and negotiate effectively. After failing once again to make any progress this year, the Bears’ ownership finally benched him. Part-owner Pat Ryan appears to have taken over talks, and Governor JB Pritzker is among those thrilled with the change.

He informed reporters in a recent discussion that progress over the past few weeks has been by far the most positive seen in a long time. He believes the two sides are “closer now than we have been before.” However, the real intrigue came right after that. Pritzker stated that the way talks were going, Arlington Heights wouldn’t be the only option on the table for the Bears. The city of Chicago would have a chance to make its own offer, potentially keeping the team in the city.

JB Pritzker appears to be pushing the idea of public ownership.

A few months ago, the Illinois Senate’s initial plan was to rework a bill that would allow municipalities within Cook County to form stadium authorities. They would then assume public ownership of the stadium the Bears build and lease it to them. The only requirement was that municipalities had at least 70,000 citizens. That leaves the Bears with five potential choices: Arlington Heights, Cicero, Schaumburg, Evanston, and Chicago. Cicero and Schaumburg haven’t once expressed interest in the idea since the saga began. Evanston already houses Northwestern’s new stadium. That pretty much leaves a two-city standoff between Arlington and Chicago.

From what JB Pritzker says, it sounds like the city is fully prepared to make a push to keep the Bears. That is something its mayor, Brandon Johnson, has voiced for years. It comes down to one thing: can the city find a property that would entice the franchise to stick around? Right now, Arlington has the advantage. The Bears already own the property and have negotiated property tax deals with the local townships. All they need is the legislation. Chicago faces the added challenge of finding a location and navigating a complex political environment populated by activist groups.

Only one location may have a chance.

For quite some time, the city has pushed the Bears to give serious consideration to the Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville. The problem is the area is very narrow and would require massive infrastructure investments to make it viable. The Bears had initially wanted the Museum campus along the lakefront, but that ran into significant opposition from activist groups like Friends of the Park. In truth, the only location that might have a legitimate chance of putting Chicago in the running is the South Works near South 85th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

The site is massive at 440 acres. It’s been vacant since 1992. Many people have been trying to get it repurposed for decades. A new football stadium acting as the hub of a massive new entertainment district might offer more appeal than any idea before it. It’s only 10 miles south of Soldier Field and keeps the Bears on the lakefront.

The Chicago Bears took a torch to their offensive personnel in 2025. Several names were either cut or allowed to leave in free agency. Among them were Gerald Everett, Teven Jenkins, Keenan Allen, Coleman Shelton, Marcedes Lewis, and Larry Borom. New head coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles then embarked on a massive retooling campaign that saw them trade for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, followed by signings like Drew Dalman and Olamide Zaccheaus. Finally, they spent their first three picks in the draft on Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Ozzy Trapilo.

It was a clear message from Johnson that he intended to build his unit rather than try to make it work with somebody else’s.

Rest assured, circumstances are lining up for the same thing to happen with the Bears’ defense in 2027. It is a perfect storm of key guys playing poorly and several of the biggest names reaching contract points where they are cuttable without significant dead-money consequences. Right now, there is a realistic scenario where 6 Bears starters on defense could be gone this spring. Montez Sweat, Jaylon Johnson, Dayo Odeyingbo, Grady Jarrett, and T.J. Edwards are cuttable, while Tyrique Stevenson will likely leave in free agency.

The Chicago Bears’ defense may get a long-overdue facelift.

When you look at the stats, most of the names listed above don’t have a strong argument for staying another year. Sweat only has 2 sacks and 13 pressures in 5 games. Now he’s been suspended for two weeks for a PED violation. Johnson and Stevenson are both near the bottom of the NFL in passer rating allowed this season. Edwards remains solid in coverage at linebacker but is once again dealing with a hamstring injury. Odeyingbo has been the best performer of the group, but he, too, is dealing with another health setback (quad).

The only guys you can safely say are unquestioned starters going into 2027 are Austin Booker, Dillon Thieneman, Coby Bryant, and Malik Muhammad. Three of those names have been earning it on the field, while the other was a high-priced free agent the team signed this past offseason. Kyler Gordon has yet to play this season. Neville Gallimore is a replacement-level starter at best. The same is true of D’Marco Jackson. There is a realistic scenario where the Bears bring in 9 new starters next season.

There will be options for the Bears to pursue in 2027.

Like in 2025, the Bears will have to attack the problem from multiple angles. That means a combination of free agency, the draft, and trades. The veteran market rarely makes major difference-makers available, but a peek ahead suggests there could be notable options to pursue.

Several teams will be over the salary cap next year. That means some of them might unload hefty contracts to address that problem. Would Baltimore unload Roquan Smith or Nnamdi Madubuike? Buffalo might feel compelled to surrender Ed Oliver. The same can be said for the 49ers with Deommodore Lenoir or the Chiefs with Nick Bolton.

Finally, you have the draft. Current projections have 17 defensive linemen, 4 linebackers, and 5 cornerbacks with 1st or 2nd round grades. That should present the Chicago Bears a major opportunity to infuse some youth into their defensive ranks.

Montez Sweat has really put the Chicago Bears in a bad spot with his PED suspension. Not only will they not have him against two of the league’s hottest offenses over the next two weeks, but they may also have lost Dayo Odeyingbo to a quad injury. Suddenly, Austin Booker is their only proven edge rusher on the roster. Shemar Turner, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah, and James Lynch are their only other options. That feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

This begs the question.

Could the Bears look for emergency help? The free agency market is obviously barren this time of year, filled mostly with has-beens or career backups. However, unless they’re willing to be aggressive on the trade market, it’s their only avenue. Here are some names that might be worth the risk of looking into.

Losing Montez Sweat leaves the Bears with mostly spent options.

Denico Autry

If you’re looking for somebody dependable who fits defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, then Autry is the guy. The 36-year-old was one of the steadier defensive linemen in the NFL for nearly a decade. Consistently underrated. He actually broke into the NFL under Allen in 2014 when he was head coach of the Oakland Raiders. So the two know each other. Autry’s 6’5″, 285 lbs frame certainly fits the profile. He should be well-rested and healthy. Is he up for one more season?

Haason Reddick

For a four-year stretch between 2020 and 2023, the two-time Pro Bowler was nearly unblockable. Incredibly electric coming off the edge. However, the past two seasons saw him hampered by injuries. At age 32, it’s unclear how much gas he has left in the tank, if any. There is also the question of fit. Allen prefers bigger defensive ends. At 6’1″ and 240 lbs, Reddick is not that. He is a pure situational pass rusher.

Leonard Floyd

How ironic would this be? The Bears let Floyd go years ago because they felt his production didn’t match his draft status. He signs on in L.A. and immediately becomes a double-digit sack guy, winning a Super Bowl. He was still productive last season with Atlanta, notching 3.5 sacks and 11 QB hits. Could he return to the team that drafted them to help them fill the Montez Sweat void in their time of need? It would be a pretty cool story.

Azeez Ojulari

Like Reddick, Ojulari is on the smaller side for an edge defender. So his fit with Allen will be questionable. That said, he’s shown flashes in the past of being a pretty solid pass rusher. He had 8 sacks as a rookie and 6 with the Giants in 2024. Last season was cut short by injuries. Since then, he’s been sitting quietly on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad. Plucking him would be pretty easy.

Emmanuel Ogbah

Another of those classic NFL journeymen who seems to always produce wherever he goes. Between 2019 and 2024, Ogbah had at least 5 sacks in all but one of those seasons. He isn’t flashy, but he does his job more often than not. Last season can’t be held against him since his opportunities were limited on a loaded Jacksonville Jaguars front. At age 32, he might have one more run in him.

The Chicago Bears never really had a chance on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. That was mostly because quarterback Tyson Bagent looked overwhelmed. He missed several open receivers all game long and threw the ball into way too many crowded situations. Two brutal interceptions only exacerbated the issues. However, anybody who knows head coach Ben Johnson will quickly point to the team’s inability to run the ball effectively. Just 81 yards on 24 carries is unacceptable.

The alarming part is that it wasn’t about the blocking. That would be one thing. This has more to do with the status of their running back position. Kyle Monangai missed the game with a turf toe injury. It isn’t known when he will return. That type of ailment can take a long time to heal. D’Andre Swift did play in the game, but he only received 9 carries. Those who watched felt something was off. It appears Swift isn’t 100% healthy, leaving the status of the position very much in doubt.

Ben Johnson won’t let that situation linger.

Running the ball is the identity of this offense. Everything that makes his system so great is built through that. If Swift and Monangai are dealing with persistent injury problems, it leaves the Bears in a serious bind. What does Johnson do? He can try to make things work with the reserves he has available. Roschon Johnson, Brittain Brown, Zavier Scott, and Salvon Ahmed are all options. The problem is that none of them is overly proven. There is a reason they’re backups. Expecting them to step up is a long shot.

That leads to the forbidden question. Would Ben Johnson dare seek a solution on the trade market? It sounds like an overreaction at first. At the same time, the importance of running the ball for this team may necessitate a more aggressive approach. While there are no big-name players likely to be available this year, there’s at least one who could be an immediate help. That is Tony Pollard. The 29-year-old has four straight 1,000-yard seasons and is on track for another despite playing for a 0-5 Tennessee Titans team. He’s in the last year of his contract, so it shouldn’t be too expensive to acquire him.

Pollard would love this offense.

He’s made his name in outside-zone rushing schemes, which allows him to use his speed and vision to maximum effect. There is no doubt he would take advantage of the many lanes Johnson’s system would create for him. He would certainly be motivated to join a team that is actually in the thick of the playoff hunt. The contract wouldn’t be much of an issue as he’s owed around $4 million. The Bears have enough cap space. All that stands in the way of such a deal is the trade cost.

Considering his age and the position he plays, there is no way Pollard costs more than a 6th round pick. Chicago can pay that without batting an eye. He would be an immediate boost to the most important part of their offense and give Caleb Williams another weapon in the passing game. It would ease the burden on Swift and Monangai, allowing them to get healthy. Depending on what happens Sunday in Atlanta, this could be a move Johnson pushes for.

The Chicago Bears defense did not look prepared on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. They allowed a whopping 6 plays of 30 yards or more through the air. Quarterback Jordan Love kept firing passes to his speedy receivers, and the Bears’ cornerbacks couldn’t stop it. Jaylon Johnson and Malik Muhammad were victimized a lot. Tyrique Stevenson wasn’t much better before his injury knocked him out of the game. However, this wasn’t just a player issue. Some of the blame falls at the feet of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Nobody argues that the man is good at his job. The Bears have produced some stellar performances on defense this season. However, that doesn’t mean Allen is immune to mistakes. Perhaps one of his lingering faults is his rigid approach to coaching the game. He wants specific types of personnel and will call the defense accordingly. The problem is he even does this when he clearly doesn’t have said personnel. Among the biggest musts for him is cornerbacks who can cover 1-on-1. The Bears don’t have them, but that didn’t stop Allen from calling the defense as if they did on Sunday. Ben Solak of ESPN had some eye-popping stats.

Dennis Allen was asking for trouble in that game.

The Bears’ secondary is just as bad. Tyrique Stevenson Sr. is sixth in passer rating allowed among corners (140.7), while Jaylon Johnson is eighth (133.7). Both looked a little nicer analytically coming into the Week 5 game against the Packers, but holy smokes did Jordan Love, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden show the Bears a thing or two down the field. Love went 6-for-8 on throws at least 20 yards downfield for a whopping 258 passing yards and two touchdowns…

…The continued growth of Thieneman and Muhammad, the impending return of slot corner Kyler Gordon (practice window opened Oct. 1) and the eventual return of safety Coby Bryant are all reasons for long-term hope. But coordinator Dennis Allen wants to play man coverage (34.7% rate, fifth highest in the league), and the Bears currently have zero corners I truly trust in man-to-man defense.

Dennis Allen must accept reality.

Johnson is not the player he was two years ago. For whatever reason, his ability to mirror opposing receivers and stick to them is gone. It’s pretty clear he has lost some speed, and it makes him especially vulnerable to faster receivers like Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Stevenson has much the same problem, and that was before he was dealing with a hamstring issue. The rookie Muhammad has plenty of upside, but he’s still learning. The truth is, the Bears don’t have a single corner they can depend on in man coverage.

What makes this odd is the sudden uptick in man coverage tendency. Last season, Johnson was the only player who logged over 30% of his snaps in man. This year, that number has jumped to four, with Stevenson, Muhammad, and Dillon Thieneman joining him. That seems rather reckless by Dennis Allen, considering two of those players are rookies. It is understandable that he wants to play a certain style of defense. His best ever defense, the 2020 New Orleans Saints, saw seven players go over 30% in man coverage. Two even crossed the 40% mark. It worked perfectly, but that was because Allen had the players to make it happen.

• Marshon Lattimore
• P.J. Williams
• Janoris Jenkins
• Marcus Williams
• Malcolm Jenkins

The Bears aren’t there yet.

In truth, this defense still isn’t entirely one constructed by Allen. Johnson and Stevenson are holdovers from the previous regime under Matt Eberflus. They made their names in a far different scheme. Maybe it was a slight red flag when Nahshon Wright outperformed both of them last season. A big part of why was that his skill set fit the type of defense Allen wanted to run. The Bears still haven’t collected a full assortment of defensive backs who do that. Muhammad and Thieneman do, as does free agent addition Coby Bryant.

Unfortunately, they’re still not there. They need at least one more true man-cover corner to reach a point where Allen can get away with this much man-to-man. As things stand now, he is asking for trouble by continuing to do so. The responsible thing for him to do is shift to more zone looks. It might limit his ability to blitz, but it should at least help limit the big plays.

The Chicago Bears’ defense took a pretty rough beating on Sunday. Not only did they allow 31 points in Green Bay, but they lost three starters to injuries, including defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo. Nobody could’ve imagined it would get much, much worse. On Tuesday, the NFL announced it was handing down a two-game suspension to Montez Sweat for violating the league’s PED policy. This means the Bears could be without two of their top three pass rushers as they prepare to face two of the league’s hottest offenses in Atlanta and Seattle.

Make no mistake, this is a DEFCON 1 disaster for the Bears. Their secondary has already looked shaky, even when the pass rush was effective. Try to imagine how much worse it’ll get when they have to defend Drake London and Jaxon Smith-Njigba with virtually no pass rush at all. Remember, their depth at the position was never great to begin with. Marcus Davenport retired after just one game. Now Odeyingbo is hurt again, this time with a quad injury. The Bears really needed Sweat and Austin Booker to carry the load.

Montez Sweat isn’t doing his future in Chicago any favors.

It’s important to remember that he has just one more season left on his contract after 2026. Most of the guaranteed money he is owed has been paid. That means the Bears can either trade or cut him next year for $21 million in cap space. His play of late hasn’t been up to the level of expectation that contract brings. Through 5 games, Sweat has 13 total pressures. That is tied for 42nd in the NFL. Unless he returns from the suspension and goes on a tear, there is a serious possibility that the team will consider moving on in the spring.

Right now, the Bears’ list of healthy pass rushers for Sunday is Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah, and the newly activated Shemar Turner. Far from the most inspiring group. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is creative, but he’s not a miracle worker. Could this incident be what finally compels the team to make a big move on the trade market? There are a few notable names said to be available, including former Bear Khalil Mack and Arizona Cardinals veteran Josh Sweat.

This defense will be unrecognizable by next summer.

Rest assured, big changes are coming. Montez Sweat is not the only large contract the Bears can unload with minimal consequences. Jaylon Johnson, who has been struggling all season, would net $16 million. Odeyingbo would add $15 million, and Grady Jarrett would bring another $13.5 million. Even T.J. Edwards would bring $8.5 million. Everything is lining up for a massive overhaul on the defensive side this offseason. The Bears could push their projected cap space to $72 million with those moves.

The only uncertainty is how they’ll go about adding new pieces. A trade at the deadline could be one way to start it, followed by some aggressive moves in free agency. Their high draft picks next April are almost certain to go towards that side of the ball. It just isn’t clear if general manager Ryan Poles can pull off the kind of overhaul needed to make that unit better. Either way, Sweat’s time with the team is now clearly on the clock.