The Chicago Bears just won their fourth straight game despite a five-turnover performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite how competitive the NFC North is, the Bears have shown that they’re here to take it for the second year in a row – especially after the Jeffery Simmons trade. Chicago is no longer building for the future; they’re trying to prove they can win the next Super Bowl and give their fans something they have waited 40 years for.
The Bears Have Made It Clear They’re In Win-Now Mode
The Bears made the playoffs last year at 11-6 for the first time since 2020. It was their first winning record since 2018 (12-4) and their first conference semifinal spot since 2010. It’s safe to say Chicago fans have been desperate for a stretch of winning football, and it seems it’s coming this season.
The Bears are sitting at 7-2, despite Williams getting injured late in week two and not returning until week six. They seem to recognize this could be a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl, and the trade for Simmons proves it. Chicago traded two future first-round picks for the standout defensive lineman, a clear indication of its commitment to getting a Super Bowl. .
Simmons is in his eighth NFL season, having spent the last seven with the Tennessee Titans. In that time, he has become a three-time All-Pro and climbed up Tennessee’s team leaderboards. He is 10th in sacks in Titans history and second in tackles for loss. As recently as last season, he made the All-Pro First Team, but he was wasted on a Titans team that hasn’t had a winning record since 2021.
Since the Bears hired Ben Johnson, they have had one of the NFL’s more explosive offenses. They were a top-ten scoring offense last season (25.9 ppg), and this season they have scored 30 or more points in four games, including a 59-point explosion in week one. Their biggest hole was the lack of a game-changing defensive lineman, which all the recent Super Bowl champions have had:
- Seattle Seahawks – Leonard Williams, Demarcus Lawrence
- Philadelphia Eagles – Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith
- Kansas City Chiefs – Chris Jones
- Los Angeles Rams – Aaron Donald
Chicago’s trade to acquire Simmons for two first-round picks makes it clear the Bears are competing for the NFC North, and not just building for the future. It is crazy to believe that just two years ago, Chicago had only five wins.
Caleb Williams Is Giving Chicago A Reason To Believe
The Bears have been searching for their franchise QB for years. Jay Cutler spent eight years with them, bringing them two winning seasons and one playoff appearance. They pivoted to Mitch Trubisky after that; he is now a backup in Tennessee, despite bringing Chicago to the playoffs in his second season. That ended up being his best season in the NFL, and the revolving door of QBs went to Justin Fields. He never blossomed into the player many expected and is now a backup to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
Williams has been the first QB that’ has lived up’s been living up to expectations. The Bears drafted him with the Carolina Panthers’ first overall pick in 2024 out of the University of Southern California. Williams was one of the picks Chicago received in the infamous D.J. Moore trade that gave Carolina Bryce Young. Williams was thrown behind an embarrassing Bears offensive line, which allowed a league-high 68 sacks and 466 yards lost to sacks. Nevertheless, Williams still thrived, throwing 20 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for almost 500 yards.
Williams’ stats improved only last season, with just one more interception and seven more touchdowns. The last Chicago QB to surpass that touchdown total (27) was Jay Cutler in 2014 (28 touchdowns), but he still threw 18 interceptions. Williams has quickly grown into a franchise QB and is likely to be the first Bears QB to reach 4,000 passing yards in one season. He came within 58 yards last season and would’ve had a shot this season if he hadn’t missed time. This season, he’s looked awesome, except for Monday night’s game, when he threw four interceptions, raising his season total to five. He still has 10 total touchdowns (two rushing, eight passing) and a career-high completion percentage of 68.7%.
Williams is only in his third season, and after bringing Chicago to the second round of the playoffs in his second, the Bears have plenty of time to build around him. Why not now though? He just needs to clean up his turnover mistakes in the playoffs (he threw five total last season).
Chicago’s Defense Will Be The Difference
Chicago’s defense has been solid for most of the season, allowing only about 20 points a game on average. They also have seven interceptions, tied for eighth in the NFL, but they are about middle of the road in touchdowns allowed: 21 total (13 passing, eight rushing). They also allow only the sixth-most rushing yards per game (91.1). The Bears also have the league’s fourth-most sacks (26), third-highest sack percentage (9.1%), and fourth-highest pressure rate (27.1%). Their defense has been solid, but to contend for a Super Bowl, they needed a game-changer.
Simmons is that difference maker and he could elevate their already above-average defense to one of the best in the NFL. Since Simmons joined Chicago, he has two sacks, 10 total tackles (six solo), and three tackles for loss. The Bears have the best third-down conversion rate on defense, only allowing 26% of third downs through. That number has only improved since Simmons’ arrival. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had 126 rushing yards against Chicago, which is pretty solid considering they’ve had over 200 yards three times.
Being able to pressure the quarterback is important when going for a deep playoff push. As I mentioned earlier, every past Super Bowl champion has had an elite defensive lineman. It’s something the Bears surely would have loved to have against the Rams in the divisional round last season. If Simmons continues his greatness, the secondary will have a lot less pressure. Pair that with an elite offense, and few teams will be able to stop the Bears (outside of their own division).
The Bears Have To Beat Out The Best Division In Football
Chicago fans have been waiting for continued relevance for years, and it seems they’ve finally found it. Of course, it comes at a time when the rest of the NFC North is elite. The Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions are all playoff contenders, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole division makes the postseason.
| Chicago Bears | 7-2 |
| Detroit Lions | 6-2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6-3 |
The Bears have their bye this week, while the Lions play the New England Patriots and the Vikings play the Packers. Minnesota and Green Bay won’t matter much to Chicago, with at least one team in the division moving up. The Detroit game, on the other hand, will be really important for the Bears to hold on to the division lead. The Lions have an elite offense. Their defense, though, has a lot of problems, which means the Patriots could get a win if they can jump ahead early on Detroit.
No matter the result of the Vikings and Packers games, both teams are a legitimate threat to Chicago. Although Minnesota’s offense has ranked at the bottom of the league this season, they just completed a trade to reunite with Kirk Cousins. He should improve their passing attack. He’s brought the Las Vegas Raiders to a top-10 offense this season, while the Vikings’ offense is near the bottom of the NFL. Cousins, who already has a connection with Justin Jefferson, should improve the passing attack immediately. Pair that with the best defense in the NFL, and they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Green Bay beat Chicago 31-7 in the Bears most embarrassing defeat of the season, but Chicago was starting Tyson Bagent at QB. The Packers have one of the best receiving duos in Matthew Golden and Christian Watson. Jordan Love is playing out of his mind, leading the NFL in total yards (2618) and throwing for 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The two teams play again in Week 16, when fans can hopefully see both at full strength. That game could very well decide the division leader.
What’s your take? Post it in our free sports community at stadiumrant.app, or download Stadium Rant on the App Store.
The End Of My Chicago Bears Rant
The Bears are finally back in Super Bowl contention for the first time in what feels like forever. They have as good a shot as ever at winning their first championship since 1985, and adding Jeffery Simmons only helps. Their explosive offense can run up the score against almost any defense, and their revamped defense can maintain that lead. They already have a playoff run last season to build on. Chicago has to hope it can secure the No. 1 seed and survive the brutal North.
