Bear Digest

Colin Cowherd Takes a Bold Stance on Bears in 2026 NFL Rankings

Caleb Williams and the Bears have turned one of their biggest doubters into a true believer.
Pete Martuneac|
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Outside of the city of Chicago, not many people were buying what the Bears were selling last offseason. Everything looked good on paper. Caleb Williams was a young quarterback with limitless potential, and the Bears' hiring of Ben Johnson as their next head coach signaled a turning point for this snakebitten franchise. But the Bears had duped the NFL world many times before with a promising offseason, and many analysts wanted to see them prove it on the field.

Suffice it to say that the Bears delivered in spades. Caleb Williams led the Bears' offensive awakening in 2025, guiding Chicago to its first division title since 2018 and a miraculous Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers that will go down as one of the best wins in the history of this rivalry.

The 2025 NFL season served as proof of concept for the Bears. They demonstrated that they were not the same ol' Bears, that they can be a serious franchise that contends for Super Bowl titles. But with that success comes elevated expectations, even from one analyst who had previously been one of their biggest doubters.

Colin Cowherd spent much of the 2025 offseason delivering hot takes on the Bears and their quarterback, going so far as to call Caleb Williams a 'disastrous first date' and perpetuate the narrative that Williams can't play in structure. But on Wednesday, Cowherd released his Top 10 Teams hierarchy for the 2026 NFL season, and he slotted the Bears all the way up at No. 4.

"I know you think it's high," Cowherd says. "The Rams had to play a perfect game and beat them in overtime in the playoffs... Teams, by the way, went 2-14-1 after they played the Bears. I don't know what that means, but it's something. They did not take the ball away in the playoffs like they did in the regular season. I think they have to spend almost their entire draft capital on defensive players."

One man's luck is another man's preparation

As Cowherd mentions, teams went 2-14-1 after playing the Bears. What does that mean? Cowherd confesses that he's not sure what, but he knows it means something, and I think many analysts share that sentiment. The Bears were a tough, disciplined team that forced their opponents to be locked in for each and every one of the 3,600 seconds in a regulation football game. That's both physically and mentally exhausting, especially when you walk away from that with a shocking loss on some last-minute heroics by Caleb Williams.

Did the Bears look like they were flying by the seat of their pants all season and stumbling into undeserved wins? Sure, and that's the very reason why some fans and analysts are predicting a regression. They think Chicago's luck has run out, and it will be back to the same ol' Bears next year. However, the fact that the Bears clawed back a fourth-quarter victory seven times proves there's something sustainable under the surface. With one more offseason under the guidance of Ben Johnson, what manifested as luck in 2025 should reveal itself as something more in 2026.

As the great philosopher Seneca the Younger once said, "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."

The Bottom Line

Ranking the Bears at No. 4 behind the Rams and Seahawks feels right, given that these were three of the last four teams standing in the NFC. As the defending NFC North champs, they get the benefit of the doubt in their division, which is why no Lions or Packers fans should complain about Cowherd putting the Bears above them.

Now it's up to the Bears to deliver on expectations once again. Being a fun, heart-warming story of the feisty underdog won't work in 2026. Bears fans got an appetizer of postseason glory; now they're expecting an entree and a dessert, and the Bears can't afford to fall back into old habits.

Caleb William
Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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