Another playoff loss produces familiar pain, but the foundation underneath this 2025 Bears team is nothing like 2018 — and that difference matters far more than the final score.
A magical, unexpected, and at times unbelievable season for the 2025 Chicago Bears ended Sunday night with an all-too-familiar feeling: heartbreak.
It’s not the same heartbreak Bears fans have felt before. It’s not the heartbreak that comes after losing to your biggest rival, getting embarrassed on a national stage, or finding ways to lose in “same old Bears” fashion.
We’ve known for quite some time now that this team was different.
But it’s heartbreaking nonetheless.
The Bears exceeded expectations in every way. Few expected them to have a winning season, and nobody thought they’d win the NFC North and go toe-to-toe with the number one offense in football in the divisional round.
Ben Johnson has his haters. Caleb Williams has his doubters. And yet, the Bears consistently got the last laugh.
So why does it hurt so bad?
Because expectations change as the season changes. The more the Bears won, and the more miracles they seemed to pull off, the more belief began to infect the city of Chicago and the entire fan base.
There was something so magical about this team. We were aware of their flaws, yet it always felt like they would find a way to win. And right down to the very end, it still felt that way.
Including the regular season and playoffs, the Bears lost seven games this season. Five of those losses came down to the final play of the game.
Caleb Williams made one of the most improbable throws I’ve ever witnessed to tie the game at the end of regulation. And yet, somehow, it may not even be a top-three moment from Williams this season.
The magic was almost inevitably going to run out eventually. After all, 31 of 32 NFL teams end the season frustrated with the outcome. But the closer the Bears got, the more we began to believe they would keep this thing rolling.
A team can only prove you wrong so many times before you have no choice but to believe.
And yet, I can say with certainty that this heartbreak — and this loss — is very different from the last time the Bears found themselves in this situation.
There is, of course, a fear in the air that the 2025 Bears will be remembered the same way the 2018 Bears were: an epic season that ended in heartbreak, and then things were never the same.
But I feel pretty confident in saying that’s not going to be the case.
There’s one pretty distinct difference between the 2025 Bears and the 2018 Bears, and it makes all the difference moving forward.
The head coach and the quarterback.
Ben Johnson is no Matt Nagy. Sure, he was a hot-name candidate — an offensive mind who won a lot of football games and entered Coach of the Year conversations in his first season.
But let’s not forget that the Bears were carried by a championship-level defense and a fantastic defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio during the 2018 season.
Chicago’s offense that year finished in the bottom half of the league in yards per game. And the very next year, it fell apart into a bottom-five unit.
Nagy was never an exceptional play-caller. He never brought an elite offense to the table. And he never helped his young quarterback excel. That’s why the Bears’ window was so fleeting.
Johnson was the opposite. The Bears were sixth in the NFL in yards per game this season. He brought his own unique offense to the table. And he helped his quarterback improve over the course of the season — now putting him on a trajectory to be elite.
“He’s been everything Chicago has needed as a coach,” Caleb Williams said of Ben Johnson after the loss to the Rams.
This is a partnership that’s going to produce a lot of winning football in Chicago. And it’s two men who recognize the value of the other.
Johnson spoke about Williams after the game and said, “There are some things you just can’t coach. He’s got that about him.”
He recognizes that, as good of a coach as he might be, Caleb elevates the Bears’ offense to another level with talent you can’t teach.
Mitchell Trubisky never had that. Even in his good seasons, he was limited physically. But it’s undeniable that Caleb Williams is a unique and special talent who’s going to have more success in the NFL.
So if you’re a Bears fan looking for a silver lining to all the heartbreak you’re feeling right now, take solace in the fact that at the two most important positions in football, the Chicago Bears got it right.
If you have the right coach and the right quarterback, there’s a really good chance you’ll find your way back. We’ve seen countless examples of that over the years.
Sometimes sustained success doesn’t mean you have to have the most complete team around you. You just need to be exceptional where it matters.
The 2018 Bears never had that. They were counting on defensive excellence to take them to the promised land.
But Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams aren’t going anywhere. And that should inspire hope that there will be more winning seasons in Chicago’s future.