The Chicago Bears changed their entire franchise when they hired Ben Johnson last season. No executives left the building; they just hired a new head coach after a disastrous season. From there, they started to build towards what they have today.
It wasn’t easy at first. The Bears had a hard training camp and started the 2025 season 0-2. In their first loss, they blew a multi-score lead to the Minnesota Vikings. In the second, they were blown out by the Detroit Lions. Starting winless in the first two games against division rivals is never a great start. It’s very difficult to come back and win a division, but they did.
Not only did the Bears win the NFC North, which was a deep division overall, but they won their first playoff game over the Green Bay Packers — the franchise’s first in nearly two decades. Chicago lost in overtime of the divisional round to the Los Angeles Rams, which ended what turned out to be a charmed season where everything went right for the Bears.
Sometimes, when teams have pop-up division-winning seasons like that, they overreact and think that they are ready to take the jump. The Bears may be a really good football team in 2026, but can they expect to win seven games where they were trailing with under two minutes left? Can they expect to lead the league in turnovers despite having a bottom-three pass rush?
Maybe they can overcome those things, but will it lead to true title contention? Only time will tell. It does seem, based on their organizational moves, that they don’t see their actual contention windows opening until 2027, and they are playing with house money heading into 2026.
The Bears have yet to address their pass rush in the way that they need to. Whether it’s signing one, trading for one, or drafting one in the consequential rounds, it hasn’t been done. Is it because they think it’s not that important? Well, that’s likely impossible. Now, is it because the right one hasn’t come along yet in their eyes? It could, which suggests a delayed true window of championship contention.
This does not mean that 2026 would be a throwaway year. Ben Johnson is going to have this team prepared to play every single week with a great game plan. However, he also knows that the endgame is to have sustained success over the next decade or more. This long-term plan does not seem to be mortgaging the future for the unknown.
If the true plan is to continue building without ever straying away from the building blocks that they have in place, and they know that 2027 and beyond is more realistic, nobody will be mad if they have sustained success for a half-decade or more.
The quarterback, head coach, and multiple pieces on both sides of the ball are in place, but what will it take for them to have the roster built to actually compete for the Lombardi Trophy in February? They are working towards that as we speak.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears may see 2027 as true opening of contention window
Reporting by Vincent Parise, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
