The Chicago Bears made waves in Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach, going from worst to first with an 11-6 record, winning the NFC North and earning the franchise’s first playoff win in nearly two decades. They were also one of the NFC’s top teams, earning the No. 2 seed behind only the eventual Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks.
While Chicago was able to take down the hated Green Bay Packers in the wild-card playoffs, they were unable to finish the job against the Los Angeles Rams, losing in overtime of the divisional round. When looking at the NFC’s top seeds, led by the Seahawks and Rams, what do the Bears need to do to close the gap? Franchise legend and Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher explained how Chicago can do just that.
“Defensively, they’re going to have to play better,” Urlacher said, via Roto Grinders. “They got some dudes up front, and the thing that’s gonna be different for them, I think they’re gonna play with the lead this year a bunch. You get used to playing from behind, and your pass rushers can’t get after the quarterback. There’s some things you can’t do.”
The Bears played from behind for most of the season, notching an NFL-record seven fourth-quarter comebacks, including thrillers against the Packers (twice, including the postseason), Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders. Urlacher said the next step is learning to play with a lead.
“They won so many games last year that they shouldn’t have won,” he said. “Every game, the Packers game, when they beat the crap out of the Packers twice there late in the season, they only led for 15 seconds total in both games when they crushed them. They built off of that.
“You got to learn how to play with the lead. You got to learn how to get some leads earlier in those games, which I think they’re going to do. They’re going to be better all the way around, in my opinion.”
There are some who believe the Bears are primed for regression in 2026, after last year’s magical season, especially with the league’s most difficult strength of schedule and playing in one of the toughest divisions. But Urlacher believes Chicago is only going to get better.
“I hope I’m right. I just don’t see them taking a step back,” Urlacher said. “I see Caleb getting better. I see the defense getting better. Good teams get better every single year. I think they’ll be doing that, staying healthy is the number one deal with everybody.”
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Brian Urlacher explains how Bears can close the gap on NFC contenders
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
