Following the Chicago Bears has long been a thankless experience for supporters, especially as the team often ignored the offensive aspects of the game in search of recreating their infamous 85 defense.
Yet, with the hiring of offensive guru, Ben Johnson, as head coach in the NFL offseason, the Bears have shaken the past and seemingly have created the path to a brighter future.
When Bears running back Roschon Johnson spoke to Chris Winterburn of Gridiron Magazine in the offseason, he detailed the renewed hope around the Bears‘ playoff hopes, even if most fans weren’t expecting the team to be quite that good.
“Ben does a great job of utilising his guys and having fun with the offense, being creative with it. I’m definitely excited to see what type of Chicago spin we can put on that and hopefully we can have great success with it. We definitely have more than enough pieces and talent to reach the playoffs,” Johnson told Gridiron Magazine.
Yet just a few short months down the line, the Bears are preparing for the playoffs with their Black Friday victory over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles setting down a marker that they are a team to fear in the NFC.
Chicago now has the second-best record in the NFC
Ahead of the 2025 NFL season it was clear that Philadelphia were the team to beat, and on Friday the Bears didn’t just beat them, they bullied them.
It was a commanding, physical performance from Johnson‘s charges, with the eventually scoreline ending 24-15 in Chicago‘s favor.
Rushing was the order of the day for a Bears offense that simply didn’t let up. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai recorded impressive returns of 125 yards and 130 yards respectively.
Caleb Williams was efficient in his performance, even if he wasn’t the star performer. He threw for 154 yards and one touchdown, although he was sacked twice.
For Philly, it was an afternoon where they just couldn’t seem to find any rhythm. They couldn’t take advantage of key moments which went in their favor.
In the third quarter they intercepted a Williams pass, but they immediately fell to a four-and-out as a dominant Bears defensive line halted their usually unplayable ‘tush push’.
Johnson‘s team was able to put together a near perfect performance, using their defensive work to set up time-consuming offensive drives.
After forcing the Eagles to turnover the ball after that aforementioned interception, they marched 92 yards down the field in 12 plays to score a touchdown. In the first-half they held the ball for 21 minutes out of a possible 30, it was a sporting equivalent of suffocation for the Eagles.
Eagles fans may point to a difficult schedule and conflicting egos in their locker room, yet nothing can be taken away from the Bears.
This wasn’t a one-off, but merely the crescendo performance at the end of a strong run of victories.
Everything came together for the Bears and they now sit at 9-3 in the NFC, with only the 9-2 Los Angeles Rams having a better record than them in the conference.
The playoffs beckon and with a number of teams struggling in a way few could predict prior to the season, there is no reason why Chicago fans can’t start to dream.
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