The 2026 Chicago Bears could build off what they did a season ago. They won 11 games and won a playoff game for the first time since 2010. There, however, are two reasons to believe the team will take a step back in 2026.
With how exciting every Bears game was, people tend to forget how poor their defense was. The defense was good at taking the ball away, leading the league with 23 interceptions and ranking top 10 in forced fumbles with 12.
In other metrics, the perfromance was subpar. The sports show on FOX, First Things First, did a great job of displaying the rankings. Chicago was 23rd in opponents’ points per game allowed, 29th in opponent total yards/yards per play, and gave up the third most 20+yard plays.
The Bears’ defense was also ranked 22nd in third-down percentage and sacks. The pressure rate was no better, as they sat at 27th. It’s not sustainable for a defense to rely on takeaways as their main calling card. They have to get better in some of the fundamental aspects of the game.
With that said, Chicago made some offseason moves to address the defensive warts. They signed former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant and former Cleveland Browns linebacker Devin Bush. Two solid players who will make an impact on that side of the ball, but the question is, will it be enough?
For the 2026 Bears to replicate the success of the 2025 Bears, the defense has to be better.
The Bears in 2025 won 11 games and had just a +26 point differential. That was the worst in the league for all teams that won 11+ games. They also won six games via game-winning drives.
That makes for good television, but is it sustainable? History does not reward teams that excel in one-score gaming in the following year. For context, Chicago was 8-3 in one-score games in 2025.
Some recent examples of teams that had that script flipped on them in such games were the 2023 Minnesota Vikings and 2025 Kansas City Chiefs. In 2022, the Vikings went an unprecedented 11-0 in their one-score contests. In the following year, the same team went 6-8 in those types of games.
The 2024 Chiefs were known for pulling games out of the fire week after week. They topped the 2022 Vikings in one-score games and went 12-0 in such contests. That team went 1-7 in one-score games in 2025 with Patrick Mahomes and 1-9 overall.
Chicago will inevitably not be 8-3 in tight games in 2026. The key for them is to play better early on in games to avoid such situations. The 2026 Bears must find a way to win games wire to wire to avoid being beaten down by history.
Can Chicago put together more complete games this season?
It’s an exciting time to be a Bears fan. It looks like they have found their head coach in Ben Johnson, and quarterback Caleb Williams has brought a level of hope to the city unlike we have ever seen. They brought the city of Chicago excitement and drama in all of 2025.
The next step now is to turn that drama into consistency. The honeymoon phase is over for the Bears. Fans now expect them to perform well week to week.
It’ll be interesting to see how this city handles expectations. Chicago hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons in nearly two decades. Can this new regime break that drought?
How many games will the Bears win?
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