Bear Digest

Where the Key Numbers Say Ben Johnson's Bears Must Improve in 2026

Obviously Caleb Williams' completion percentage must climb but is this even the number the Bears must improve the most, and what can they do to find solutions?
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tries to dump off a pass against the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs at Soldier Field.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tries to dump off a pass against the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs at Soldier Field. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The difference between the better NFL teams and weaker ones can be easily quantified.

The Bears have numbers from 2025 clearly indicating what they need to do in the offseason. Some other numbers are mere anomalies.

For instance, when the regular season ended, the Bears had 29 dropped passes, fifth most in the league, and their 5.1% drop percentage also ranked fifth.

"We still can get better in some areas," coach Ben Johnson said. "When I think about being fundamentally sound, we have to do a better job catching the football next year. And I can tell you right now, that'll be a point of emphasis for us when they come back in the springtime."

Yet, how much did this really damage them? Sure, it did matter in the final playoff game and their six drops in two playoff games are tied for the most among all teams that made the postseason.

In the regular season, though, with just nine fewer drops over 17 games they would have ended up right in the middle of the pack. This hardly seems a reason to revamp their receiver corps.

As bad as it hurt the Bears to lose to the Rams because of an interception when victory loomed 15 to 20 yards ahead during overtime, Caleb Williams' picks had not been a problem over the course of the regular season. It's not a particular area to address.

Instead, here are the worst team numbers from this Bears season, all of which must must be addressed with free agent or draft help.

5. Three opening-drive TDs

The Bears scored touchdowns on their first drives in the first two games, then didn't get one until the Cincinnati game in Week 9, and then didn't get another one the rest of the regular season. Was it Ben Johnson's play calling, Caleb Williams not being ready to play, the game plan, or perhaps the work of Declan Doyle with the attack during the week?

Considering they were top 10 in scoring and sixth on offense, this stat is tough to explain, and has to be corrected. They eventually wound up in the top 10 for first-quarter points scored, but that opening drive was 3-for-17 for TDs.

4. 126 pressures

The Bears were 22nd in pressure percentage at 21.1% They don't get enough heat even though they resorted to more blitzing to do it. They finished 11th in blitz percentage but still couldn't get enough pressure.

These are Pro Football Reference/Stathead numbers. Pro Football Focus gives out pressures practically for looking at the quarterback and that's not an accurate number.

The Bears didn't get enough sacks, but the 35 they had was the same number as the Patriots and New England still has one big game to play. This is not huge problem. The 49ers were last in the league with 20 sacks and they were in the playoffs. Maybe what former defensive coordinator Greg Blache once said is right, and sacks are overrated.

It's the pressures and the pressure percentage that are critical.

They do need interior pass rush help and extra edge rush help.

3. 6.0 yards per play

The Bears gave up far too many explosive plays, whether on pass defense or run defense.

Mostly, it's the pass defense giving up these yards and their pass coverage was supposed to be a strength. At this point, it must be assumed playing without so many of their best pass defenders during the season caused some of this issues. Kyler Gordon (14 games), Jaylon Johnson (10 games), plus the absence of their first three linebackers for a big chunk of the year did not help.

The Bears were the only team in the bottom 10 at yards allowed per play to get into the playoffs.

It's not hard to figure out how this was possible. When you lead the NFL in takeaways with 33 and interceptions with 23, it offsets a lot of the big plays allowed. However, teams can't count on this many takeaways every year—although Allen's scheme traditionally dictated a top 10 team in takeaways in New Orleans in most seasons.

The pass coverage must be better in this man-to-man based scheme but it should be simply by having players back healthy and knowing the scheme better.

2. 58.1% completions

Johnson points at EPA as a key metric, or expected points added. Williams was 12th at this at 43.96, which isn't bad. This was only a symptom. His passing problem was really completion percentage at 58.1. The EPA would have been higher with more accurate passing.

He could have been among the elite passers if he just completed passes somewhere close to the league average of 64.3% at a rate. Those extra completions mean extra first downs, extended drives, and ultimately more points.

1.  5.0 yards allowed per rush

It is a defensive number that plagues them. Of course it is. After their offense turned from last in the league in 2024 to sixth overall this season, no matter how ugly their completion percentage or dropped pass total looks, they were successful on offense.

They made their season far more difficult and had it ended because they gave up half the yardage to a first down on every rush. It's the most they allowed per rush attempt since the 2013, when they allowed an embarrassing 5.3 per rush to finish last in the league.

Because they couldn't stop the run, they often couldn't stop the pass.

It's the reason why finding defensive tackle help remains their primary need.

Pro Football Focus' Ryan Smith recognized this last week when he wrote that their biggest need is defensive line, but then identified Clemson edge T.J. Parker as the player who can correct their biggest flaw.

Anyone who stops the run would be a help, but a rookie edge like Parker is more likely to be the solution to their pass rush need, one which is a little less serious. This isn't to say he's poor against the run. Rookie defensive tackles, in general, struggle against the run.

In particular, the Bears need to be better at stopping runs behind left guard and right guard. They were 30th in the league at 5.79 yards per rush allowed and 29th behind right guard at 5.06 yards per rush.

Defensive tackles and also inside linebackers need to be better, much better.

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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.