Image: Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times
The “Cardiac” Bears’ miracle season came to a heartbreaking end on Sunday, losing 20-17 to the Rams in OT. It was certainly a frustrating loss for us Bears fans, as the Bears had multiple opportunities to put the game away but came up short each time. In a bit of a surprise, offensive woes and questionable playcalling held the team back from success.
Dennis Allen and the defense held the Rams to 17 points in regulation before the game-winning field goal in OT. The defense defied expectations by committing to the blitz and an all-time performance from Jaquan Brisker, where he recorded a team-high of 14 total tackles and a sack.
Ben Johnson and the offense disappointed to say the least. Questionable playcalling decisions defined the tone of the night, where gambles on fourth down came back to bite them. The Bears left 9 points on the board and turned the ball over in Rams territory on their failed fourth-down attempts. The receivers also let the team down big time, as Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland both dropped several passes. DJ Moore made some big catches, but was criticized for effort on several big plays. Fans have blasted Moore online for jogging his route on the interception that sealed the Rams’ victory.
Caleb Williams also had an up-and-down day. He threw three interceptions, including a crucial pick in OT that put the Rams in field goal position and sent the Bears home early. However, he also had throws and moments that displayed his generational talent. The cinematic 51-yard touchdown thrown to Cole Kmet might go down as one of the greatest throws fans have seen. Caleb scrambled backwards with two linemen blitzing towards him and threw the ball to Kmet for a miraculous game-tying TD. According to Next Gen Stats, the throw had a completion percentage of 17.8%.
Despite the loss, the Bears have one of the brightest futures in the league. After decades of striking out at the quarterback position, they finally have their generational talent in Caleb Williams. The offensive line is now one of the league’s strongest units, and the receiving room is arguably the most talented in the NFL. Ben Johnson has finally changed the culture in Chicago, making this season a huge success. Here are my six main takeaways from the Bears’ 2025-26 season.
Caleb Williams proved he will be a top-five QB in the league.
The biggest takeaway of the season should be that Caleb is a legitimate superstar in the making. With weekly highlight throws and a superhuman ability to avoid sacks, Caleb performed in a manner that the Bears have never seen before with their quarterback play.
Nicknamed the “Cardiac” Bears for a reason, Caleb led the team to a league-leading seven fourth-quarter comebacks. Last week’s 21-3 comeback against the Packers marked the fourth-largest comeback in NFL playoff history, an incredible feat in year two.
Caleb displayed his generational arm talent throughout the year. His longest pass went to Luther Burden for a 65-yard touchdown against Dallas in week three, a throw that arguably set the tone for the season. He also set the NFL record for the fewest interceptions in a quarterback’s first 1,000 passing attempts, throwing just 12 picks at an absurdly low interception rate of 1.2%. This record puts Caleb ahead of all-time greats like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady and displays the elite football IQ he has at just 24 years old.
An underrated facet of Caleb’s game that stood out was his improved ability to avoid taking sacks. Advanced stats showed that Caleb evaded around 50 sacks, displaying his athleticism and improved pocket awareness.
To top it off, Caleb nearly broke the infamous 4,000-yard threshold that has haunted Chicago. He finished the year by breaking Erik Kramer’s single-season passing yard record, throwing for 3,942 passing yards. Setting records and leading the league in all these metrics at just 24 years old, I can comfortably say Caleb will develop into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
The top offseason priority should be finding an elite edge rusher.
Even though the pass rushers played their best game of the season versus the Rams, the group played with too much inconsistency to stand pat at the position. Ryan Poles needs to improve the defensive line in free agency and use the team’s first-round pick on an elite defensive lineman, which is far and away the Bears’ biggest need.
The Bears’ defense struggled significantly for most of the season, ranking below average in almost every metric besides takeaways and interceptions (in which they ironically led the league). They recorded a season total of just 35 sacks, which ranked 26th in the NFL. The unit also gave up 227.2 passing yards per game (22nd in NFL) and 134.5 rushing yards per game (27th in NFL).
Although Montez Sweat recorded ten sacks this season, his ability to get to the quarterback was not displayed consistently enough. Sweat performs better when paired with a number one edge rusher instead of occupying the number one spot. This was reflected during his time on the Commanders, where he served as the bread to Chase Young’s butter. Andrew Billings, Dayo Odeyingbo, Gervon Dexter, and Grady Jarrett also underwhelmed throughout the year. The four linemen combined for just 9.5 sacks and missed easy tackles most weeks.
Officially finishing with the 25th pick, drafting an edge rusher becomes the priority when the Bears take the clock. A recent mock draft from CBS Sports has the Bears selecting Florida Gators’ defensive tackle Caleb Banks. Banks missed most of last season with a foot injury, but recorded 21 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and four and a half sacks in 2024. Despite missing significant time, Banks measures at six-foot-six and displays elite athleticism for his size, making an enticing prospect with his attributes.
Edge rusher Cashius Howell and defensive tackle Lee Hunter are other potential targets at the 25th pick. Potential targets in free agency include defensive ends Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips, and Odafe Oweh. Hendrickson stands out as the best option. He recorded consecutive seasons with 17.5 sacks in 2023 and 2024, and parting ways with the Bengals appears imminent. Jaelan Phillips and Odafe Oweh both broke out in the second half of 2025 with their respective teams (Eagles and Chargers), but stand out as prime franchise tag candidates with no guarantee for the open market.
Another thing worth keeping an eye on is the Raiders’ relationship with superstar Maxx Crosby. There are rumors that Crosby is disgruntled with Raiders’ ownership and wants out of Las Vegas. If Crosby demands a trade, the Bears need to pounce on the opportunity and land their superstar on the front-seven.
The Bears have important decisions to make with contract restructures and free agents.
Ryan Poles ends the season with several decisions to make about the defense. The Bears have 27 players hitting free agency, with the majority on the defensive side of the ball. Notable free agents include All-Pro Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Nahshon Wright, D’Marco Jackson, Andrew Billings, and CJ Gardner-Johnson.
If I called the shots, extending Byard and Brisker would be the priority. However, there are long-term concerns with each player, making no signing a guarantee. Byard turns 33 in August, Wright is coming off a career high in interceptions but served as a liability in man coverage, and Brisker’s value commands more annually than the Bears have available.
As it currently stands, the Bears have just $3.6 million available in cap space to spend this offseason. This ranks 21st in the NFL, but has room for improvement by restructuring veteran contracts. The Bears also have the most cap space in the NFC North, putting them at less risk of regression for next year despite the potential losses.
D.J. Moore and Montez Sweat stand out as potential trade chips due to their ages, declining numbers, and yearly cap hits. Sweat and Moore have the two highest cap hits on the team, making them prime candidates for contract restructures or a trade. A Moore trade arguably makes the most sense. The crowded receiver room and concerns over halfhearted effort on routes prompt questions over his long-term role with the Bears. If Maxx Crosby is truly on the trade block this offseason, Moore would likely be included in a deal. Dealing Moore frees up cap space and gives the Raiders a true number one receiver for the incoming Fernando Mendoza.
Ben Johnson needs to learn from the loss and improve playcalling on 4th downs this offseason.
Ben Johnson deserves tons of credit for the turnaround in Chicago this year. Between instilling the “never quit” mindset that led the Bears to lead the league in fourth-quarter comebacks and developing an innovative offense that ranked fourth in yards per game with 375.7, Ben transformed the Chicago losing culture to a winning one in just one season. Chicago jumped from worst to first and improved from five to eleven wins under Ben. His impact redefined Chicago’s offense into one of the NFL’s finest, a far cry from days when defenses carried the team.
However, the loss to the Rams was arguably Ben’s worst game of playcalling as a head coach. Ben struggled in both playoff games with inefficient third-down playcalling and opting to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goals.
Ben’s aggressiveness on fourth-down is nothing new, as it was a staple in Detroit that carried over to Chicago’s offense. However, the Bears have not particularly excelled on fourth down despite having this philosophy. Chicago ranked 12th in fourth-down attempts, yet only converted 48.8% of them and ranked 23rd in successful conversions. The playoffs proved to be no different, as they went two-for-six against the Packers and three-for-six against the Rams.
These coaching decisions ended up costly. Caleb turned the ball over on two of the failed fourth-down attempts, which allowed the Rams to score. Kicking field goals could have literally prevented the loss, as Cairo Santos had not missed a kick all night. Ben needs to learn from this going forward, as leaving points on the board cannot become a standard practice.
Luther Burden should be the number one receiver going forward, not Rome Odunze.
Although the receiving corps arguably underwhelmed this season, rookie Luther Burden exceeded expectations in year one. Luther flashed insane athleticism all year, with his breakaway speed allowing him to beat defenders and make big plays. He finished the season with 652 receiving yards and two touchdowns, earning 334 of those yards after the catch (51.2%).
His promising statline in a crowded wideout room gets better after digging into advanced metrics. Luther recorded the highest catch rate on the team, catching 78.3% of his targets. He also recorded the largest amount of yards per target with 10.8, demonstrating his big-play ability. Additionally, he generated 2.7 yards per route run, which puts him second among rookies with over 200 routes (behind A.J. Brown in 2019.)
On the contrary, Rome Odunze underwhelmed in year two instead of taking an expected leap. Odunze’s season started with a bang, as he became the first Bears player to score consecutive touchdowns in the team’s first four games since Walter Payton in 1986.
However, the hype cooled off by week five. Odunze struggled significantly with drops for the rest of the year. He finished with the fifth-highest drop percentage of the year (12.3%), a huge stray from the contested catch machine he was at Washington. To make matters worse, Odunze missed five games battling a stress fracture.
All hope is far from lost with Odunze, as he is still just 23 years old. Odunze will need to lock in entering year three and practice catching 50/50 balls. However, I think it is safe to say that Odunze is more of a two than a one with Luther’s emergence. Luther’s big play and route-running ability unlock the offense more efficiently, making him the better option than Odunze as the number one option.
What things do you think the Bears need to work on this offseason? Let me know in the comments.
