The Chicago Bears are already being talked about like a team on the verge of something huge, but the truth is a little less tidy than the hype. After an electric first season under head coach Ben Johnson, some around the league are treating Chicago as if the next dynasty is already taking shape.
Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated is among those buying in. He put the Bears on his recent list of 14 NFL teams that can realistically win the Super Bowl this season, and he doesn’t seem rattled by the volatility that could come with Chicago’s 2025 campaign.
Orr said, "I still think Johnson is one of the league’s elite play-callers, who will be setting the pace for what is schematically possible this season. Because of that, sometimes one-score wins represent less of a fluke and more of a fact that Johnson is simply calling better plays in bigger moments than other offensive play-callers."
There’s no question the window is opening for Chicago. The problem is that saying it has already fully opened feels a little early.
The Bears did plenty last season to fuel the optimism. They went 5-1 in one-score games and produced seven fourth-quarter comebacks, the most by an NFL team since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger. That kind of finishing power is exactly why people are starting to circle them now.
Still, that sort of record in tight games usually comes with a warning label. The 2023 Minnesota Vikings are the clearest example, falling to 7-10 after winning 12 one-score games the year before.
Even so, the case for Chicago is easy to see. Johnson has established himself as one of the league’s top offensive play-callers, and Caleb Williams looks ready to make a major leap with young skill talent around him.
The issue is that the roster isn’t finished. The defense still carries real questions after leaning so heavily on turnovers last season, and the departures of Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright, two of the team’s top takeaway creators, point toward some natural regression.
The offense could end up in the top five. The defense could just as easily finish in the bottom five.
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