The Chicago Bears have plenty of believers when it comes to their offense, but the national respect still isn’t fully there.
That’s the strange part. After a season in which the Bears went from one of the NFL’s worst offenses in 2024 to one of its best, the buzz should be louder. Instead, there’s still some hesitation to put them in the top tier.
CBS Sports writer Jared Dubin reflected that in his ranking of the league’s top offensive triplets. He moved the Bears up nine spots from last year, but still slotted them at No. 13 with Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift and Colston Loveland.
“The Bears are big risers, climbing nine spots. Williams was considerably better in Year 2 than he was in Year 1, slashing his sack rate while keeping interceptions to a minimum and seeing a spike in his touchdown rate.
Swift showed improvement in his first season under Ben Johnson, while Loveland is a popular breakout candidate after he showed a ton of promise down the stretch of his rookie season. Hopes are clearly very high for this group.”
It’s not hard to see why the Bears feel like they should be higher.
Williams put together a strong season even with a 58% completion percentage, finishing with 31 total touchdowns across passing, rushing and receiving. He also led an NFL-record seven comebacks and game-winning drives, and he set the franchise mark for passing yards in a season with 3,942.
Swift delivered a career year of his own, piling up 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He shared the backfield with rookie standout Kyle Monangai, but still produced enough to earn himself another year in Chicago.
Loveland started slowly, then found his stride and became Williams’ favorite target by the end of the season. Among the Bears’ receivers, he led the group with 713 yards and six touchdowns.
Put together, that trio looks a lot more dangerous than a No. 13 ranking suggests. The Bears have already shown they can make a leap under Ben Johnson, but the rest of the league still seems to want more proof before buying in completely.
For now, the Bears can live with the doubt. If Johnson’s offense keeps building the way it did last season, 2026 could be the year the rest of the NFL stops overlooking them.
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