After a rough start, the Bears soared to the NFC's top seed. Now, Ben Johnson faces his ultimate December promise against a surging Packers team.
The Chicago Bears are 9-3, but the 2025 season didn't start that way for head coach Ben Johnson.
The Bears started the year at 0-2 after losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Things weren't looking early on in the Johnson era, but things have really turned around for Chicago.
On Sunday, the Bears claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Chicago was No. 2 heading into the weekend, but a Los Angeles Rams' loss to the Carolina Panthers gave the Bears the top spot.
Things are moving in the right direction for the Bears, but Johnson must now deliver on a promise he made all the way back in September.
After the loss to the Lions in Week 2, Johnson swore that his team would play its best football in December. Well, folks, the time has come, and what better way to deliver on his promise than against the Green Bay Packers?
"We're gonna be playing our best football in December," Johnson said. "I know that to be certain. We're just in a race right now to get better in a hurry, and the faster we get there, the wins will start coming, and we'll be just fine."
Chicago comes into Sunday's matchup with Green Bay on a five-game winning streak after its most recent 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday.
The Bears are riding a hot streak, but the Packers are right behind them in the NFC North standings. Chicago has the No. 1 spot in the division, with the Packers in second at 8-3-1. Green Bay beat Detroit 31-24 on Thanksgiving in its last game and is on a three-game winning streak.
Regardless of Johnson's confidence in his team, the wins haven't come easily for the Bears against the Packers. In the last four matchups, the Packers are 3-1 against the Bears.
It definitely won't be an easy task to beat Green Bay, but Johnson has done a tremendous job of turning around this franchise in his first season.
The Bears went from 5-12 and firing head coach Matt Eberflus, to holding the top seed in the NFC ahead of Week 14.
Sunday's game will be an excellent test for this Bears team, but Johnson has proven that his squad can weather the storm.
Take the Pittsburgh Steelers game, for example. The Bears were without starting linebackers T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds and Noah Sewell due to injury. Johnson relied on D'Marco Jackson, Ruben Hyppolite II and Amen Ogbongbemiga, who all stepped up to the task.
All that's left is to see if Johnson was right about the Bears in December. Kickoff is at 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.