One thing often said by NFL greats over the years is you can always tell who will have success based on how they handle the highs and lows. Football is a sport of emotions, or more specifically, controlling your emotions. If you get carried away with the euphoric moments or let the ugly setbacks linger in your mind, you’re doomed to fail. It is the players and coaches who can keep their mental focus through the full 60 minutes of a game who usually come out on top. This was a lesson Caleb Williams hadn’t really learned.

It was evident during his time in college. He never seemed to handle tough losses well, particularly the one against Utah, where he was seen crying with his mother. Head coach Ben Johnson knew that passion from his quarterback wasn’t a bad thing. The challenging part for him was teaching Williams the importance of mental toughness. Resilience in the face of adversity is a vital component of winning. The Bears’ quarterback had an interesting comment after the win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, indicating that Johnson’s coaching has fully taken hold.

“Today, in the beginning, it didn’t feel like I got into a good rhythm,” Williams said. “I was missing passes, and it was kind of weird. I wasn’t too frustrated like a couple of weeks ago, when I was missing passes and got extremely frustrated and things like that. I understood, and I wrote in my notes to stay positive for myself but also for the guys. I think I did a solid job with that this week.”

Caleb Williams is learning to be a professional. That is the hardest part.

Most young quarterbacks often resist the urge to change their approach. Why should they? The reason they became high draft choices in the first place was because of the process they used in college. It doesn’t make sense to change. They often don’t realize how staggering a challenge the NFL is until it’s too late. By the time they mature, they’ve lost the starting job and are on the trail as journeyman backups. Johnson’s ability to get Caleb Williams on board so quickly can’t be understated.

Sure, there are still areas to clean up. The lack of consistent accuracy remains a problem. Williams himself admitted as much. Yet the progress he has made in just the past two months is truly remarkable. He is playing some of the best football a Bears quarterback has in the Super Bowl era. Still, it’s his willingness to learn that may prove the difference in how far this team goes, both this year and in the future.

People can’t understand how it’s happening. By all rights, the Chicago Bears‘ defense should be a train wreck. They have been decimated by injuries most of the season. Their top four linebackers didn’t play one game in Baltimore. Going into Sunday against Pittsburgh, they were down all three of their starting linebackers, along with three other starters. Not long into the game, Tyrique Stevenson also went down. It is the kind of situation that makes even the most seasoned defensive coordinators cry. Yet Dennis Allen somehow managed to make it work.

Nahshon Wright had his fifth interception of the season. He started training camp as CB5. Linebackers D'Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga combined for 29 tackles. Emergency trade acquisition Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had three tackles and a couple of QB pressures. Deep reserve corner Nick McCloud had seven tackles. How? How is Allen doing this? Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune finally got an answer from various players after Sunday’s win.

It is a combination of Marine drill instructor and college professor.

“For starters, it’s just the expectation that you know,” said special teamer Daniel Hardy, who gets time at defensive end and as an off-ball linebacker. “It’s not, ‘Well, you’ll play if somebody gets hurt.’ It’s, ‘You’re going to play, so you better be ready.’ There is an expectation that everybody in the room is ready to play at all times.”

Along those lines, Allen hits the players with pop quizzes every week, with questions that get to the smallest details. He’ll call on the highest-paid players on the roster to the most recent practice-squad additions. Talk about a situation with peer pressure to be on top of your stuff.

“You’ve got to know this because we’re a shoestring and whatever else away from you going in,” cornerback Josh Blackwell said of the spot players are in when called upon to deliver an answer. “That’s the reality of the NFL, right? It’s not that (Allen) has tried to embarrass anyone. But if you don’t know it, you could be the guy in that situation and we need you to make the play.”

Dennis Allen has a firm understanding of NFL reality.

It is a violent sport. Injuries are inevitable. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’re likely to be. Praying for good health alone isn’t enough. Smart coaches prepare for the eventuality that someone will go down. That means putting in the necessary effort to prepare the backups. You’d be surprised how many coaching staffs don’t bother going that extra mile. They expect reasonable good health and focus their efforts on keeping the starters sharp. That is why backups look like such liabilities when they do come in.

Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen have made it their mission not to let that happen. They don’t care where you came from or how much you get paid. You’d better be on top of your details. If you’re not, don’t expect to be on the roster long. The process is impossible to argue against. Chicago might be one of the most injured teams in the NFL this year, and they’re still 8-3. Allen’s efforts are a crucial part of why.

Michael Jordan said winning has a price. He had no idea how true that statement is in so many ways. One of those prices often paid is watching many qualified people in your organization being poached for higher positions elsewhere. Other teams want a piece of your success and will steal from you to get it. For years, it has felt like the Chicago Bears were on borrowed time with assistant general manager Ian Cunningham. He was already considered a GM candidate when he arrived and has come close to getting the job a few times since.

However, it feels like the Bears’ down seasons over the past three years managed to keep his stock quiet. It sounds like that is about to change. The sharks are already circling. Kyle Crabbs of A-to-Z Sports indicated as much when he mentioned Cunningham as a top candidate for the Miami Dolphins’ vacant GM spot.

Cunningham has interviewed for several general manager vacancies in recent years, including the Titans, Chargers, and Jaguars. He’s not been picked yet, but the glow up in Chicago this season will likely help his case. Cunningham boasts an impressive track record that includes stops in Baltimore under Ozzie Newsome and Philadelphia under Howie Roseman before landing in Chicago.

Much of this depends on how many GM positions come open. Other teams worth keeping an eye on as the final six weeks unfold are Atlanta, New York (Giants), and maybe Arizona.

The Chicago Bears owe much of their success to Cunningham.

After all, he played a big part in building what has turned out to be one of the deepest rosters in the league. Despite a ridiculous number of injuries, the Bears have still managed to win eight of their last nine games. Meanwhile, the team’s 2025 draft class is blossoming in a big way. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai all played pivotal roles in the team’s win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Cunningham’s influence on everything can’t be understated. There has been substantial evidence that the assistant GM acts as an excellent sounding board and voice of reason to Ryan Poles. Every time the Chicago Bears GM has contemplated an aggressive move, Cunningham has been the one to urge caution, often with good reasons. Now the organization is poised for long-term success.

If another team does come calling, Chicago will receive two 3rd round picks over the next two offseasons.

The last 30 years of football have seen the Chicago Bears tormented by the Green Bay Packers, largely due to their incredible good fortune at quarterback. It started with Brett Favre, who dominated them for most of the 1990s and 2000s. Then it moved to Aaron Rodgers, who did it even more in the 2010s and early 2020s. However, the football gods have a unique way of balancing the scales. For Favre, it happened in 2010 during a frigid game in Minnesota, where a sack by Corey Wootton sent him crashing into the turf.

What followed was a now-iconic shot of Favre prone on the field with Brian Urlacher staring down at him. Most saw that as the end of Favre’s hold over the Bears.

Sunday’s game between Chicago and the Pittsburgh Steelers felt like a similar setup. Maybe the Bears would have a chance to do the same to Rodgers. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh ruined that when the quarterback was deactivated due to his broken wrist. However, the winds of fate still managed to find a way. Trailing 31-28 with just over two minutes left, Pittsburgh was driving. On 3rd and 4, they lined up for the play. Cameras panned to Rodgers, who had an apoplectic look on his face, his hands on his head, as he appeared to mouth the words, “Oh my god, we’re in the wrong formation!”

Sure enough, the Steelers were called for an illegal formation penalty. That set up 3rd and 9. An incompletion on the following play forced them to punt. That mistake allowed the Bears to burn two of Pittsburgh’s timeouts while an injury cost them the third. Thus, they had to march at least 40 yards with only 1:29 left to have a chance to tie the game.

They failed.

That final camera shot of Aaron Rodgers couldn’t have been planned any better.

Seeing him utterly helpless on the sideline to stop what was unfolding seems appropriate. Where Favre was known for his seemingly mythical durability, Aaron Rodgers was known for his control. Both saw their last game against the Bears end in defeat, with each of those strengths taken away from them. Favre was knocked out of the game. Rodgers was rendered voiceless. That photo with his hands on his head might not be quite as poetic as Favre’s was, but it certainly has a similar impact.

It serves as the clear endpoint to both a career and a rivalry. That win not only furthered the Bears’ aims of making the playoffs, but also potentially ruined Rodgers’ own chances of doing the same. Pittsburgh fell to 6-5 and is losing its grip on the lead in the AFC North. It would be sheer perfection if this loss ends up ruining everything for their old nemesis.

It is impossible to undersell what Ben Johnson is doing right now. The first-year head coach is overcoming one of the worst injury plagues in recent memory, along with other challenges, to lead the NFC North with six games remaining. The Chicago Bears are 8-3, likely two games away from grabbing a playoff spot for the first time in five years. Yet that isn’t the craziest achievement he is flirting with. Courtney Cronin of ESPN revealed an incredible stat. Only two teams in NFL history have managed to win eight games in a season with a negative point differential. Just one of them made the playoffs.

That was the Cleveland Browns in the 2020 COVID season. Chicago is now positioned to become the second. Teams in this sort of sport often have the same reputation. They play a lot of close games. Ten of Cleveland’s games were decided by a touchdown or less that season. They were 8-2 in those games. The Bears have played seven such games through the first eleven weeks. They are 6-1. What Johnson is accomplishing under such crazy circumstances is nothing short of incredible.

Ben Johnson is doing it mostly on his own, too.

Most of the Bears’ success this season comes via their offense, which is 6th in yards and 8th in scoring. While the defense leads the league in takeaways, it’s 27th overall in the league. Most of the victories this year came from scoring 24 or more points. That includes five 4th quarter comebacks. While everybody deserves credit for getting the team this far, none of it happens without the leadership and wizardry of Ben Johnson. This is a level of coaching the Bears haven’t seen since George Halas.

Time will tell if he can maintain it. At some point, the talent drain will become impossible to mask. The Bears likely need two more victories to secure a playoff spot. They have six games left to get there. The imminent return of reinforcements on defense might be a big help. Johnson no doubt remains focused on only the next game.