The Chicago Bears are rolling in the Ben Johnson era, notching their fourth straight victory on Sunday with a 26–14 win over the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field.

At 4–2, this team seems destined to play meaningful football deep into the season. That's all Bears fans could have asked for before the season. And maybe more importantly — it genuinely feels like their best football is still ahead of them.

Chicago is averaging 25.3 points per game, marking the first time they've crossed the 25-point threshold since 2018, when they went 12–4 under first-year head coach Matt Nagy. On paper, that stat suggests an offense firing on all cylinders. But walking away from Sunday, what encouraged me most wasn’t what the Bears are — it’s what they aren’t yet.

The passing game was completely out of sync.

Caleb Williams finished 15 of 26 for 172 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. The timing was off on several route concepts, and too often Williams was left extending plays with nothing developing downfield, ultimately throwing the ball away.

It wasn’t his best performance. You could argue it was his worst outing of the year.

Here’s the twist: I think that’s a good thing.

Good teams win football games even when they don’t have their fastball. And the Bears, for the first time in a long time, looked like one of those teams.

The running back tandem of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai gashed the Saints for 205 rushing yards on 32 carries, and even Roschon Johnson chipped in with an 11-yard burst on a key first down.

Chicago’s defense forced four more turnovers — and it should’ve been five if Nahshon Wright hadn’t accidentally taken out Kevin Byard on what looked like a free interception. Dennis Allen dialed up timely pressure packages, sending Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker off the edge to keep Spencer Rattler uncomfortable. Each week, as this unit gets healthier, it looks more disruptive — and more confident.

By running the ball and winning the turnover battle, the Bears coasted to 26 points without needing much through the air. Now imagine what this offense looks like once the timing between Williams and his receivers clicks, and the offensive line stops sabotaging drives with botched snaps and penalties.

That’s the scary part — they haven’t even hit their stride yet.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed with this franchise. Bears fans have lived through too many false dawns to count. But Ben Johnson has earned some trust, and his postgame comments backed that up.

“We haven’t hit our stride yet offensively. We’re capable of a lot more. We have very talented individuals,” Johnson told the media postgame. “We’re not complementing our defense on a regular basis. With the number of turnovers we’ve had over the last four games, we should be able to turn those into more points.”

That’s the difference between this year’s Bears and the ghosts of seasons past. When you can run the ball, protect the football, and take it away from the other team — your floor rises, and your ceiling goes with it.

The culture has flipped. And for once, it feels like the Chicago Bears’ best football is still out in front of them.