Making the case for Chicago Bears to win the NFC North in 2025
NFL.com's Kevin Patra recently made the case for the Bears winning the NFC North this season. Obviously, the addition of Johnson is a big one. But they also shored up the interior offensive line, added playmakers on defense and more weapons for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. Still, having a competent head coach -- and one of the NFL's brightest offensive minds -- is a massive selling point.
"Last season, the Bears disintegrated despite boasting a talented roster, writes Patra. "Now, they've imported a first-time head coach who comes from a program proven to extract every ounce of talent from its players. Ben Johnson's arrival is the No. 1 reason the Bears could flip the script from worst to first in the NFC North. As a play-caller in Detroit, Johnson had defenses petrified. His pulse on managing a game is Sean Payton-esque. As far as head-coaching upgrades go, moving from Matt Eberflus to Johnson is about as big a boost as a team can take in one offseason."
If the Bears are going to win the NFC North, which was one of the best divisions in the league last season, they're going to need solid play from their young quarterback. Given he impressed during a rough rookie season that included two head coaches and three offensive coordinators, as well as being sacked a league-high 68 times, it's safe to say he's in a much better place in Year 2.
"The Caleb question is another significant piece of the puzzle. While I anticipate Johnson's arrival being the best antidote for what ills the young passer, it's possible he never becomes that franchise-changer. What if the Chicago curse is real? It might take more than nine months under Johnson to get things in gear. If Williams struggles and the offense sinks, the Bears won't have a shot to climb the NFC North ladder."
Last season, the Bears went 1-5 in the division, although there were in a position to win a few of those losses. The Detroit Lions remain atop the division with the Minnesota Vikings facing a change at quarterback and the Green Bay Packers remaining a threat. It's certainly a doable feat for Chicago, but they also have the second-most difficult strength of schedule in the NFL this season. But winning those division games will prove to be crucial.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
2 Cowboys make ESPN's 'Bag Hall of Fame' for winning at football finances
Among its ranks of fortunate players, the NFL famously stands for "Not For Long." The typical on-the-field career is incredibly short, even under ideal circumstances. Add in the extreme daily physical punishment, heightened risk of serious injury, and better-than-average chance of lifelong health issues, and it's no surprise that for most players, the ultimate goal- a Super Bowl ring notwithstanding- is to secure as much financial compensation as possible for the brief time spent playing the game. Some do it better than others, with today's modern-era contracts often resulting in dizzyingly huge paydays for the most gifted athletes on the planet. But ESPN's Bill Barnwell set out to identify the best of the best, at least when it comes to the business side of pro football. He's created what he's calling the "Bag Hall of Fame," meant to honor those players past and present who, in his words, "did the best job of maximizing their leverage and getting paid for their ability. Players who pushed holdouts to the next level. Players who bet on themselves and were handsomely rewarded for doing so. Players who even managed to represent themselves in negotiations and pocket millions of dollars that would have otherwise gone to an agent." In short, sticking it to the man (read: obscenely wealthy and yet usually miserly NFL owners). And for his inaugural class of eight players from across league history, Barnwell has recognized two who did so to none other than Cowboys billionaire owner Jerry Jones. QB Dak Prescott It's practically a cheesy Disney movie: a fourth-round draft pick who wasn't even his team's first choice in that draft class bets on himself multiple times, comes back from a catastrophic injury, finishes second in MVP voting, and goes on to become the highest-paid player in the sport's history. Jones's repeated reluctance to pony up for Prescott at the earliest opportunity "probably has cost Jones nine figures in terms of lost leverage and extra money for Prescott." His current pact, signed just hours before the start of the 2024 season, set records for average annual salary ($60 million), most single-season cash ($86.3 million), cash over the first three years ($174.1 million) and the largest signing bonus ever ($80 million). And it came with no-trade and no-tag clauses. As Barnwell notes, fellow franchise quarterbacks Josh Allen and Brock Purdy have each had their turn at the plate since Prescott's deal; neither came away with anything resembling that. "Between 2021 and 2024," Barnwell points out, the man who was once the biggest bargain in pro football "took home a staggering $212.3 million, nearly $47 million more than any other player." Is Prescott worth it? He hasn't yet secured a sixth Lombardi Trophy for the lobby of The Star, but the organization knows that paying him gives them a better chance than starting over with someone else. And in the meantime, Prescott has secured more leverage for himself than any player before him. CB Deion Sanders Sanders was both an athlete and a businessman at an unprecedented level, so much so that he convinced a total of nine teams that he was the ultimate answer to success. Across two different sports. Juggling a nine-year career in Major League Baseball with 14 seasons, nine Pro Bowl nods, six first-team All-Pro accolades, and eventually a gold jacket in the NFL, Sanders was the Loch Ness Monster in an entire herd of unicorns. Already a superstar and a Super Bowl champ by the time he came to Dallas, Sanders became the highest-paid defender in league history when he joined the Cowboys. His seven-year, $35 million deal in 1995 would translate to "something like... a seven-year, $263.4 million deal with a $97 million signing bonus under the current cap." For a cornerback. Who moonlighted as a return man. And sometimes a wide receiver. The contract was massive enough to elicit complaints from other teams, and even Jerry Rice. Emmitt Smith's agent reportedly used the Sanders contract in their own haggling with the club over Smith and the franchise tag. And yet that deal ended with a championship parade through the streets of Dallas and merely added to the legend of Sanders, the three-way NFL star who also hit homers and stole bases in the bigs as just a side hustle. Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
.JPG&w=3840&q=100)
Miami Herald
36 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Report: NFLPA won't discuss 18-game season until ‘at least early 2026'
The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell have made many overtures about the league having an expanded 18-game regular-season schedule in its future, but according to sources, the NFL Players Association has not been willing to discuss it just yet. According to a Washington Post report Tuesday, the NFLPA is not expected to formally negotiate with the NFL and team owners on a potential 18-game schedule and other issues regarding the labor agreement until 'at least early next year.' Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the 'reason for the delay isn't clear.' Goodell and the team owners have been pushing for the expanded schedule to improve the league's position from a media rights perspective, particularly in preparation for a new media package being on the line. Goodell has also made it known the league would like to expand the number of international games to at least 16. From an NFLPA perspective, the added game and additional travel bring obvious player safety concerns up for discussion. Still, it's believed the expanded schedule is an inevitability. It's just a matter of when the NFLPA will be willing to discuss and negotiate. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires after the 2030 season. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
NBC Sports
39 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Will Texas quarterback Manning be starter in NFL?
The Dan Le Batard Show debates the future of Texas redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, explaining why he needs more experience in college and why his NFL expectations are "impossibly high" due to his last name.
