After a season that felt straight out of a storybook, the Chicago Bears are suddenly being treated like a team that might have peaked too soon.
The Athletic’s Mike Jones listed the Bears among the NFL’s most overrated teams entering 2026, and he pointed to two big reasons: Caleb Williams and the defense.
Jones noted that Ben Johnson “ignited the Bears in his first season at the helm, and he helped Caleb Williams tap into some of the potential the franchise saw in the quarterback when selecting him No. 1 in 2024. Chicago’s defense led the NFL with 33 takeaways, and the Bears leapfrogged the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in the division and reached the divisional round of the playoffs.
Expectations have skyrocketed, but taking that next step represents a great challenge. Williams delivered late-game heroics, but he and his team can’t count on a repeat of that trend.
He’ll have to improve his consistency by a significant margin, and Chicago’s defense can’t get away with such a low pressure rate and such struggles against the run. The Bears feel primed for a step backward rather than forward.”
That skepticism starts with Williams, who has drawn plenty of offseason praise after last year’s breakout. His highlight-reel throws and clutch moments made him one of the most talked-about players in the league. But the counterargument is simple enough: he’s still working off just one strong season in two years as a pro, and plenty of people want to see that level hold up before handing him the crown.
The defense brings its own questions. Chicago is mostly healthy, but cornerback Kyler Gordon and defensive lineman Shemar Turner are both still hurt and not practicing this year.
The pass rush is another glaring issue. The Bears finished with only 35 sacks in 17 regular season games, which ranked 26th in the NFL. Montez Sweat can’t carry that load alone, so a lot rides on Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo taking a real step forward and becoming productive sack producers.
Still, the Bears have already given doubters plenty to chew on. They were in the playoffs for the first time in five years and won a playoff game for the first time in a decade. Now the challenge is proving that last season was the start of something bigger, not just a one-year spike.
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Ryan Poles May Finally Have A Real Fix For Bears Fans' Biggest Complaint
Ryan Poles came out of the offseason without adding a new edge rusher, a choice shaped in part by salary constraints and one that left plenty of Bears fans wondering whether the pass rush had been addressed enough. Even so, there is at least one plausible path to help on the market, with Bleacher Reports Kristopher Knox pointing to a low-cost trade idea that would give Chicago another body in the rotation without forcing the front office into a major financial commitment.
The appeal is obvious for a team still sorting out its edge depth behind Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo. The suggested target is on a one-year deal worth just $2.5 million, and the kind of price tag that could fit Chicagos budget if the Bears decide they want another swing at the position. The bigger question is whether Poles sees enough upside to make a move, or whether the current group is enough to carry into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Camp Already Has A Defensive Problem Fans Feared
The Bears opened training camp with a familiar kind of bad news for a defense trying to get organized early: multiple roster moves, and a cluster of injured players already on the shelf. T.J. Edwards went on the Active/Non-Football Injury list, while five more players landed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, a reminder that the first days of camp are already being shaped by health as much as by competition.
For a unit that needs every available body, the timing is less than ideal. Keyshaun Elliott, Kyler Gordon, Noah Sewell, Ozzy Trapilo and Shemar Turner are all dealing with injuries of varying severity, with some issues carrying over from last season, and that leaves the Bears sorting through depth questions before the pads even come on. It is the kind of early-camp problem teams hope to avoid, especially on a side of the ball where continuity matters and every missed practice can slow the whole operation. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Poles May Be Eyeing A Hidden Fix For Bears Depth
With training camp approaching, the Bears brought in six players for a workout as they continue to look for ways to shore up the roster before the pads come on. Four of those players were defensive backs, a clear sign the team is keeping an eye on secondary depth, while the group also included an offensive tackle and a guard as Chicago takes a broad look at possible short-term help and longer-term fits.
One of the more intriguing names in the mix was Ben Te Kura, whose background makes him stand out even in a league that is always hunting for unusual athletic projects. The former rugby player is being evaluated as a potential football transition, and the Bears are at least doing their homework on what kind of role he might eventually fill if they decide to keep developing him. [Read more 🡒]