While a depleted defense and inconsistent pass rush threaten Chicago’s momentum, the pressure shifts to Ben Johnson’s offense. Caleb Williams must overcome receiver drops to prove he’s elite.
The Chicago Bears finally got over the hump last year.
After not appearing in the playoffs since 2020 under Matt Nagy, the Bears did so in just the first year of Ben Johnson's tenure.
With an improved offensive line and an offensive genius like Johnson calling the plays, Chicago finally figured things out.
The team still had its flaws, however.
The defense was a problem for most of the year. The Bears ranked sixth in rushing yards allowed (134.5) and 11th in passing yards allowed per game (239.2). Chicago was also 10th in points allowed per game (24.4).
The injuries to Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson didn't do the Bears any favors. Johnson injured his groin in Week 2, and Gordon went on the injured reserve multiple times due to groin and calf injuries throughout the year.
The one thing that the defense was consistently good at was forcing turnovers. The Bears led the league with 33 takeaways in the regular season, but we all know that's going to be hard to replicate in 2026.
This is especially true given the players the Bears lost in the offseason. Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker are gone. Byard accounted for seven interceptions, and Nahshon Wright is also no longer with the team after his breakout season of five interceptions.
Tremaine Edmunds accounted for four interceptions, but he was released to free up cap space ahead of free agency.
The pass rush wasn't addressed despite underperforming last season. Montez Sweat had 10 sacks, but the Bears as a whole couldn't sustain a consistent pass rush and ranked 22nd in the NFL with 35 sacks as a team.
With all of these flaws, one person who isn't a question mark for the Bears is Caleb Williams unless you're The Ringer's Diante Lee.
Lee published an article recently highlighting every NFL team's biggest question heading into training camp. He believed the Bears' biggest question was whether Williams could play at an MVP level.
Lee mentioned how Johnson has stated that Williams needs to improve his accuracy. Williams' completion percentage went from 62.5% as a rookie to 58.1% last year, but I don't think that number is all on him.
We saw just how many drops his receivers had versus the New York Giants in Week 10. The Bears' receivers had anywhere from seven to eight drops throughout the game, and a few of them would've resulted in touchdowns if they were caught.
Accuracy is important, but it's not all on Williams.
On top of that, we should have confidence that Williams can play at an MVP level for several reasons.
For one, he is extremely talented.
He has excellent arm talent and can get the Bears out of tricky situations by scrambling if needed or escaping a collapsing pocket to find an open receiver, as we saw many times in the playoffs.
Williams is also only going to get better in Johnson's offense. In just his first year with Johnson, Williams broke the Bears' single-season passing yards record and set new career highs in yards and touchdown passes.
Then, there's the supporting cast around the Bears quarterback. Chicago returns both D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who were the main cogs in the third-best rushing attack last season.
The receiving corps is mostly the same after losing D.J. Moore. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are back, and the Bears have added Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas, and Scotty Miller, to name a few.
Williams can absolutely play up to an MVP level. He is set up for success with the Bears and has an offensive mastermind in Johnson calling the plays.
If there's one person who shouldn't any question marks surrounding them, it's Williams. He is one of the main reasons why the Bears are in a position to have a lot of success this season.
