Ben Johnson isn’t losing any sleep over the noise around the Chicago Bears.
When Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen took a shot at the attention swirling around Chicago, saying he saw "40 pictures" of Caleb Williams and none about his own team, Johnson didn’t duck the topic during his press conference on Day 3 of training camp. He met it head-on.
“Well, we’re the No. 1 regression candidate, so I think we’ve got plenty of motivation ourselves. We’ve talked about Caleb in the past. He’s used to handling a lot of attention, so I’m not worried about that.”
That answer fits the moment around the Bears. After going 11-6 last season, Chicago spent the offseason under a bright spotlight, with Williams and Johnson treated like major storylines for the future of the NFL. At the same time, plenty of people around the league have spent just as much energy predicting a drop-off in 2026.
A big reason for that skepticism is the schedule. The Bears are staring at the toughest slate in the NFL, while the Detroit Lions have the easiest. That alone has fueled a lot of the talk about Chicago taking a step back.
There’s also been plenty of debate about the defense. It has drawn extra scrutiny, and many experts believe that unit didn’t improve from a group that finished in the bottom 10 in total defense.
Still, the Bears remain one of the league’s most discussed teams, even if the tone around them feels guarded rather than fully sold. The belief is there, but so is hesitation. A lot of the national conversation has landed somewhere between optimism and caution.
Williams is a huge part of why the Bears have earned that attention in the first place. He broke franchise records and NFL records, which makes the hype easy to understand.
For now, though, the Bears don’t seem interested in getting caught up in any of it. Johnson’s presence has already helped establish a culture where egos don’t get to settle in, and the team appears focused on what happens on the field rather than what outsiders are saying.
Coen can keep talking if he wants. The Bears are moving forward with their eyes on getting better, even with regression talk hanging over them.
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