Bear Digest

How Ben Johnson Is Wrong About Bears Starting All Over Again

The Bears coach said they have to build it all back up, but their experience against tougher teams in 2025 says they're farther along than some might believe.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams scrambles for big yards against the Rams. His experience is one reason Ben Johnson is wrong about starting over.
Caleb Williams scrambles for big yards against the Rams. His experience is one reason Ben Johnson is wrong about starting over. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The popular narrative for the Bears in 2026 is how they'll revert back to pre-Ben Johnson days or possibly fight simply to get above .500, chiefly because of the first-place schedule they'll play.

Based on last year's opposing winning percentages, it is the toughest schedule in the NFL at .550.

This isn't the prevailing thought in Chicago, but around the NFL and especially with the other three NFC North fan bases.

Barring injuries on offense at the same rate the Bears had on defense last year, there is every reason to think this will not be the case even after Ben Johnson's statement about starting over.

"There is no building off of this," he said. "We go back to square one. We're back at the bottom again, and that's really all 32 teams. If you feel otherwise, you're probably missing the big picture. We have got to start from scratch."

They start from scratch but the players all have been tested now to a greater extent than many believe. And now they know what they're doing.

Well tested

The Bears have now been well challenged against winning teams even after all the goofy chatter about a weak schedule in 2025, and they didn't come out of it looking too bad.

In fact, there was no team that made the playoffs and played more games against opponents with winning records. You might not know it with all of the garbage slung about weak schedules, but the Bears played 11 games against teams with winning records. Only the Rams played as many against teams with winning records.

The Packers and Seahawks played 10 games with teams that finished over .500. The 49ers and Eagles played nine each. No one in the AFC played more than eight.

It's easy to make a case they're more likely to come back much stronger  than one of today's Super Bowl teams as a result.

Certainly there were a lot of close games and unlikely finishes but that's more of a positive than negative. The best NFL teams win close games every week and the Bears have shown they have acquired the knack for doing it.

Beating good, better, best

The soft schedule everyone said the Bears had proved to be anything but that to close out 2025. They were 5-6 against winning teams, counting the playoffs.

All told, they were 4-3 against those winning teams after their predictable slow 1-3 start against them. This was a new coaching staff with new systems in place and a young QB with a first-time head coach. They needed some adjustment/learning time.

If you can beat winning teams at close to a .500 level, your playoff chances are solid.

Bears in 2026

The Bears offense doesn't figure to regress against their first-place schedule simply because they're playing a bunch of teams that had winning records in 2025.

What's more important is how those teams played and the matchups. The teams the Bears face in 2026 are not a group loaded with ways of taking down Caleb Williams and the passing game or at stopping the Bears on the ground.

They play seven games against pass defenses that ranked in the top 10. This includes twice against the Vikings, who were second. Four games are against pass defenses ranked top four or better, but one of those was New Orleans and no one is too worried about the Saints yet.

It's a real mix facing Williams, Colston Loveland and Co. because six 2026 opponents did not rank in the top half of the league in pass defense and four rated from 11th to 16th.

As for Kyle Monangai and their running attack, they will face the two Super Bowl teams and both ranked in the top 10 against the run. They also face Jacksonville, which led the league at stopping the run, and Tampa Bay, which was fifth.

However, 11 of the Bears' 17 opponents next season ranked in the bottom half of the league at stopping the run in 2025.

Bottom line

What all of this means is if the Bears can elevate their defense to stop teams rather than always counting on taking away the ball, they should have no problem with a schedule that may not really be more challenging regardless of teams' winning percentages from last year.

Johnson's comment about starting over is only intended to describe where they go with their work and he wants to keep anyone from assuming anything.

Their 2025 was great experience toward making a run in 2026 and the schedule isn't severe enough to prevent anything.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.