Chicago Bears' rank high on panic meter among 0-2 teams entering Week 3

The Chicago Bears are 0-2, and fans are already beginning to panic.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chicago Bears fans are feeling pretty unsettled after the team's 0-2 start. The humiliating 52-21 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 2 pushed that unsettled feeling closer to an all-out panic, but as is the case after every loss, clarity is forming after a few days of post-game mourning.

Caleb Williams is actually beginning to gain some national media respect for how he's playing, and Rome Odunze looks like his star is finally beginning to shine.

But the Bears still look like an undisciplined team, and Ben Johnson has the vibe of a rookie head coach trying to stay on his feet amid a flurry of hooks and uppercuts from NFC North rivals.

It's why there is a sense of panic in Chicago, even if it's not yet complete chaos.

In a recent breakdown of every winless team's panic score, Sports Illustrated gave the Bears a seven.

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

"I think the “panic” element comes from Bears fans expecting more sooner," Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr wrote. "And I think Johnson did, too. This team was behaving as if it were on the brink of playoff contention this offseason, and it looks anything but now."

Sure, Bears fans were expecting more. How could they not? Johnson was the big-ticket coaching hire of the last five years. Caleb Williams is the generational quarterback prospect who was said to be on the launching pad in Year 2. The offensive line has been completely rebuilt. And even the defense underwent a schematic facelift with a more aggressive play caller.

So, yeah, while an 0-2 start isn't all that surprising, the manner in which the Bears got here -- collapsing against the Vikings in the fourth quarter and getting slapped around by the Lions for four quarters -- has the panic meter tilting toward high.

The NFL season is best judged in quarters, however. We're only halfway through the first quarter of the 2025 season. There's a lot of football left to be played, and the Chicago Bears will have plenty of opportunities to flip the narrative over the next game or two.

At least, let's hope they do.

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