The Bears are getting real buzz as one of the NFC’s teams to watch, and there’s good reason for it. Chicago has a young core that looks loaded, and after taking last year’s division title, the expectation is that this group can hang with the conference’s best again. The NFC is packed, though, and if the Bears are going to make a serious postseason push, they’ll have to survive a handful of matchups that can tilt the entire picture.
The toughest obstacle may be the Los Angeles Rams. Any NFC contender conversation that leaves them out is missing the point.
Los Angeles has added the league’s single-season sack record holder in Myles Garrett, brought in two Super Bowl champion corners from the Kansas City Chiefs, and is still teasing the return of Aaron Donald. With defending MVP Matthew Stafford in place, the only obvious concern is health.
For Chicago, that’s a brutal draw. The Bears might be one of the few teams in the conference with the talent to make it interesting, but it would still be a steep climb.
Philadelphia belongs right there in the same tier. The Eagles create a problem for Chicago in the trenches, especially when it comes to rushing the passer and giving Williams enough time to run the offense.
Their inside pass rush can wreck a game plan fast, and if these two teams meet, that matchup would favor Philadelphia in a lot of spots. The Super Bowl experience on this roster matters too, and Jalen Hurts has already handled two deep postseason runs with poise.
There’s even some curiosity about whether the Eagles could be better after shedding the distraction of A.J. Brown.
Then there’s Detroit, which may not be getting the same national attention as Green Bay in this conversation, but still has the Bears’ attention for a reason. The Packers have the name value, sure, but Chicago beat them twice straight, including a playoff collapse that could carry some real fallout.
Detroit, though, swept Ben Johnson’s Bears in the 2026 season. One of those wins came in a lopsided early-season result that made the Lions look like a legitimate playoff threat.
The question now is whether that same team can show up consistently enough to matter again.
In Other News...
Bears Training Camp Depth Takes Another Hit At The Worst Time
Training camp is already thin enough for the Bears in the secondary, and Tuesdays red-zone work only added to the concern. Tyrique Stevenson and Luther Burden both got hurt in the same drill and had to be evaluated by the team trainer, another jolt for a roster group that has been losing defensive backs to injuries throughout camp.
Stevenson seemed to be dealing with a right hip or tailbone issue before heading back onto the field, which at least offered one small sign of relief. Burdens situation looked more troublesome in the moment, with the young receiver limping off with the trainer, leaving Chicago to monitor a camp session that was supposed to be about competition but instead became another reminder of how quickly depth can disappear. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Rookie Jordan Van Den Berg Is Crashing A Crowded Position Battle
Jordan Van Den Berg has quietly turned himself into one of the more interesting names in Bears camp. The sixth-round rookie defensive tackle missed time with an injury, but he is back on the field and getting work as Chicago sorts through a deep interior line group. With Gervon Dexter and Grady Jarrett penciled in as the starters, and Kentavius Street and Neville Gallimore serving as the primary backups, Van Den Berg is finding a way to make his presence felt in a crowded room.
For a rookie trying to carve out a role, the challenge is not just getting healthy, but staying in the mix long enough to matter. Van Den Bergs return gives the Bears another body to evaluate as they sort out the bottom of the depth chart, and the decisions around Shemar Turner and James Lynch could help determine how much room there is for him. If he keeps stacking productive days in camp, the competition up front could get a little tighter for everyone else. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Left Tackle Worries Are Putting Caleb Williams In A Tough Spot
Training camp has already turned the Bears left tackle spot into one of the rosters most uneasy questions, and that matters plenty for Caleb Williams. Injuries and performance concerns have left Chicago searching for stability on the edge of its offense, the kind of protection issue that can ripple through everything the quarterback is asked to do before the games even start.
One name floating into the conversation is Taylor Decker, the veteran recently released by Detroit and still unsigned. He brings the kind of familiarity and experience that could help settle the position, but the Bears are working with only about $8.1 million in cap space, which leaves the idea of a deal tied to whether Decker would consider a reduced, incentive-based contract. For now, it is another reminder that Chicagos solution at left tackle may be as much about finances as football. [Read more 🡒]