After two weeks of football, the Chicago Bears looked like a team still stuck in neutral. They were 0-2, fresh off a lopsided loss to the Detroit Lions, and the early returns on rookie head coach Ben Johnson had critics lining up. The narrative was already forming: same old Bears.
Fast forward to now, and that story’s been flipped on its head.
At 9-3, Chicago sits atop the NFC, having rattled off nine wins in their last ten games. And the biggest reason for the turnaround?
It starts with the man on the sideline. Ben Johnson has this team believing, playing with purpose, and more importantly-winning.
Even former All-Pro cornerback Aqib Talib, who didn’t hold back in his early-season criticism, is walking back his words. On an earlier episode of The Arena: Gridiron, Talib didn’t mince words, saying: “They still suck, with Ben Johnson.”
But now? He’s singing a much different tune.
“I do want to apologize to Chicago,” Talib said recently. “That s*** is not trash.
Ben Johnson is real. He a f***ing dog.”
That’s a 180 if we’ve ever seen one. And honestly, it’s hard to blame Talib-or anyone else-for being surprised. This Bears team has become one of the most physical, balanced, and opportunistic squads in the league.
Talib went on to double down on his new stance: “I apologize Chicago, the fin' Bears is real. They take the ball away. They run the fin' ball and they got a damn dog that's leading them.”
And he’s not wrong.
The Bears are running the football with authority-better than just about anyone else in the league. Their ground game has become a tone-setter, chewing up clock, wearing down defenses, and opening up the rest of the offense. Add in a league-leading takeaway margin, and you’ve got a recipe for sustained success.
But what makes this stretch even more impressive is that they’ve done it while missing key pieces on defense. Now, that unit is starting to get healthy-and that should scare the rest of the NFC.
Jaylon Johnson, one of the league’s most underrated corners, is set to make just his second start of the season. Kyler Gordon is back in the fold.
And linebacker T.J. Edwards has returned to practice, rounding out a group that’s already shown flashes of dominance.
This is a defense that’s been holding its own, even without its top playmakers. With those guys returning to the lineup, the Bears are poised to take another step forward on that side of the ball. And when you combine that with their punishing ground game and ability to flip the field with takeaways, you’ve got a team that’s built for December-and beyond.
Ben Johnson has this team dialed in. The early-season noise has faded, replaced by a growing respect across the league.
And for guys like Aqib Talib, who once wrote them off? Well, they’re starting to see what Chicago fans have been watching unfold week by week: this Bears team is for real.
And if they keep playing like this, they’re not just going to be a feel-good story. They’re going to be a problem.