Why the Bears could take a step back despite Caleb Williams' breakout season and playoff run

Some teams look to person a franchise identity. Maybe that’s due to the fact that a manager has been determination everlastingly and helium is simply a defensive- oregon offense-focused coach. If you deliberation of the Steelers, you astir apt deliberation of defense. If you deliberation of the Colts, it astir apt is much astir offense. With the Chicago Bears, they had relied connected defence forever, but their discourtesy was yet getting attraction past year. Will it past this season?

Last Season

This was the Caleb Williams coming-out party. He inactive made immoderate dumb mistakes, but helium besides had immoderate moments wherever helium was perfectly fantastic. He tin marque each the peculiar plays successful the world, but determination are times that it seems similar helium can’t marque the elemental ones. You person to anticipation that tin beryllium taught due to the fact that those magical ones can’t beryllium taught. To commencement the season, the Bears suffered 2 consecutive losses and past ran disconnected 4 wins. The remainder of the season, they went 7-4, losing to the Ravens, Packers, 49ers, and Lions. Only the Ravens nonaccomplishment was by much than 1 score. In the postseason, they bushed the Packers, which is fundamentally winning the Super Bowl if you’re a Chicago fan. They had a occurrence from Caleb Williams to support the crippled live against the Rams earlier they blew it successful overtime to extremity the season.

Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears throws a walk against the Green Bay Packers during the NFC Wild Card Playoff crippled astatine Soldier Field successful Chicago, Illinois, connected Jan. 10, 2026. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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Offseason additions and subtractions

The squad dropped DJ Moore disconnected to the Bills and took location a mates of coagulated draught picks. Moore ne'er seemed to person a large rapport with Williams, truthful possibly it was the close happening to do. They tried to upgrade immoderate of their secondary due to the fact that their defence was really truly atrocious past twelvemonth extracurricular of creating turnovers. They besides had to regenerate their center, Drew Dalman, due to the fact that helium retired astatine conscionable 27 years old. They drafted 1 and signed a escaped cause to support themselves a bit.

Drew Dalman (52) of the Chicago Bears exits the tract aft warmups anterior to an NFL crippled against the Philadelphia Eagles astatine Lincoln Financial Field successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, connected Nov. 28, 2025. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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Roster

I’m acrophobic astir this team. Their defence relied fundamentally connected turnovers to support them successful games. Their discourtesy was opportunistic and good, but I don’t truly deliberation Luther Burden oregon Kalif Raymond are going to scare excessively galore guys. Ben Johnson tin marque the astir retired of this squad and these players, but I’m not precisely reasoning determination were upgrades this offseason. Defensively, we request to spot what happens. It is hard to beryllium overmuch worse than past year, but I don’t spot a ton of guys connected this roster that are going to support opponents from moving the ball.

Chicago Bears caput manager Ben Johnson takes questions during a quality league aft the team's NFL shot crippled against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, successful Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Betting Outlook

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I don’t spot overmuch of a crushed to instrumentality the Bears to triumph 10 games. I similar the Lions better, I similar the Packers better, and I adjacent deliberation the Vikings could beryllium better. The Bears volition person a tougher docket aft making it to the postseason past year. There aren’t excessively galore casual wins connected this schedule. Maybe the squad takes a large measurement forward, but with their offseason and the roster, I’m reasoning this mightiness beryllium a down year. I bash similar a changeable astatine 2 wins aft 5 games astatine +300.

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