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Bear Digest

Questions No One Asks About the 2026 Chicago Bears but Really Should

Not all of the questions about the 2026 Bears are negative ones, but there are also those as they head toward training camp in less than two weeks.
Gene Chamberlain|
It's quite possible Caleb Williams' inaccuracy last year is the exception to the rule.
It's quite possible Caleb Williams' inaccuracy last year is the exception to the rule. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

The questions about the Bears by now have been evaluated, hammered and replayed ad nauseum, with less than two weeks left until full training camp starts.

They're so familiar now that Bears fans can probably recite them in their sleep.

  • Can the defense rush the passer?
  • Can the team overall live without a defense taking the ball away so often?
  • How do they replace so many lost veteran leaders, like DJ Moore, Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, and Tremaine Edmunds?
  • Can the Bears go from NFC North hunters to the hunted?

Yet, there are some questions very rarely asked that could actually define the Bears' season. It's possible each situation could occur and not all of them carry negative consequences.

In fact, some could result in success on a greater scale than last year.

Here are the biggest questions nobody is asking about the Bears.

1. What happens when Ben Johnson gets supported by actual defense?

Sure, the Bears took the ball away a league-high 33 times and teams can't always count on leading the league in takeaways -- although it has been proven they can be among the best at it for extended periods. It is not an entirely random statistic, as some suggest.

Nevertheless, the Bears couldn't really expect to pile up as many takeaways after last year with their four top interceptors — Tremaine Edmunds, Nahshon Wright, Kevin Byard, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson — elswhere.

What happens, though, if Johnson actually gets a defense that stops opponents rather than taking it away or giving up points? No offense to Aaron Glenn, but he has never had a strong defense backing his offense since becoming a coordinator or head coach.

It might look unlikely from the outside but remember that Bears scheme last year was played by many players coordinator Dennis Allen wouldn't deem fits for his system. Or it was played by replacements because of numerous injuries. An offseason has gone by when change came to three starting positions and three backup positions. Plus, those remaining better know now how he wants it played.

What happens then with an actual better defense? No one can really know because Johnson has never enjoyed this. There are indications in the past of what Johnson was capable of when his team's defense was at least able to stop the run.

When the Lions were fourth on offense and fifth in scoring in 2022, they were backed by the worst defense in the league and 29th run defense. They finished 9-8.

When the Lions improved only to 23rd in scoring and 19th on defense, they were second against the run and at the same time Johnson's offense was fifth in scoring and third in yards. They won the NFC North at 12-5.

And when the Lions were 23rd on scoring defense and 29th in yards allowed but fifth on run defense, their offense was first in scoring and second in yards. They were 15-2 with a division title.

Last year's Bears defense looked more like the 2022 Lions defense did, except for all the takeaways. What does the whole situation look like with a more potent Bears offense and a better Bears run defense? Run defense looks like the key.

2. What happens if the Bears lose Montez Sweat?

This is a situation Ryan Poles cannot adequately answer with the current roster. There is so much talk about the Bears signing edge help to improve their struggling rush, but their depth at the position is the real problem.

It is why they absolutely must sign another edge rusher, whether it's a high-profile one like Jadeveon Clowney or one who fits as a third or fourth like Derek Barnett.

Without Sweat, they'd be relying off the edge on Dayo Odeyingbo coming off an Achilles tear and one sack, and on Austin Booker after he has had about seven or eight games as a solid NFL pass rusher.

Their quality could be insufficient, but their numbers most certainly are. The real question to be asked here is how can they not add an edge rusher?

3. What if DJ Moore's impact was greater than receptions?

The loss of leadership with Moore gone isn't easily measured but all teams develop leaders from within, anyway. What can't really be measured is how much their young receiver group last year benefited from how defenses worried about Moore.

Were defenses cheating to his side or emphasizing him with coverage, and giving the young receivers an extra step to get open?

After all, Moore followed a 1,364-yard 2023 season with only 966 in 2024 and then 682 last year. Was it the result of defenses clamping down on him to take away the top Bears weapon?

If so, can the young receivers get open on their own account without him attracting the attention?

4. What if Caleb Williams' inaccuracy in 2025 was the exception?

Williams' detractors point at his 58.1% completions and say he has so far to go simply to be average in completions that he'll never succeed as one of the league's best. He'd need to reach 64% to 66%. The assumption is his 58.1% was his norm.

What if that 58.1% was actually the exception? There is every bit as much evidence this was the case as there is 58.1% was the norm.

Remember, Williams completed 62.5% of his passes as a rookie when he was being sacked 68 times and supported by a running game ranked 29th in yards per rush. He only regressed in completion percentage after Johnson came in, tore everything apart on offense, and forced him to "drink from the firehose" with a new approach. The friendly spread and shotgun were gone and Williams was in the uncomfortable position of taking snaps under center.

Now, they start from a much more advanced point both in terms of Williams' knowledge of the offense but also his knowledge of what defenses will do as it's his third year.

Put Williams in the 64% range with last year's proven ability to complete passes for big plays and the passing game could actually make tremendous strides one year after it went from 31st in the league to 10th.

They averaged only 6.9 yards per pass attempt last year with all of the change that occurred. If Williams' percentage goes up and the big gains keep coming, his yards per attempt could soar. When that happens, so does his passer rating and EPA.

In that case, there would be an awful lot of glum faces in Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota.

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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.