Bears earn fantastic new label after Week 11 win over Vikings

The Chicago Bears picked up an impressive new label after their Week 11 win over the Vikings.

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The Chicago Bears are 7-3 and in first place in the NFC North entering Week 12.

Yes, Bears fans, you read that right.

Chicago's ascent up the NFC North standings is the result of a string of last-second victories in recent weeks, which, while not an ideal way to stack Ws, is fantastic proof that coach Ben Johnson is having a massive impact on this team in Year 1.

MORE: Cairo Santos sets surprising record against the Vikings

In fact, his impact has been so huge that the Chicago Bears were recently dubbed one of the NFL's 'wildly surprising teams' by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

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"After Caleb Williams’s seam throw to Colston Loveland to beat the Bengals, and his big runs to beat the Giants, there’s a belief in Chicago at the end of games," Breer wrote. "And this week, it even rubbed off on the Bears’ special teams, with return man Devin Duvernay taking the final kickoff of the game back 56 yards to set up Cairo Santos’s 48-yard game-winner against the Vikings."

Breer lumped the Bears with the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots as the 2025 season's biggest surprises, which makes sense.

MORE: 4 biggest winners from Bears' thrilling Week 11 victory over Vikings

The Colts, 8-2, and Patriots, 9-2, are shocking favorites in the AFC after 11 weeks. And while the Bears aren't considered quite as legitimate as their AFC counterparts, wins are wins.

Chicago is winning their way, even if it's ugly.

The Bears already have more wins in 2025 than they had all of 2024, when they finished the season with a 5-12 record. The Patriots finished last season even worse at 4-13, while the Colts were just under .500 at 8-9.

“From the time I got here in OTAs, we talked about winning—yeah, really just winning," Bears cornerback Nashon Wright said after the Vikings game. "I think we put ourselves in a good spot to control our destiny at this point. It was great to get the first division win. We’ve got three more [division games], so we’ve got a lot of work to be done. But like I said, we control our destiny. And I like where we’re sitting. I think we all do.”

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