Why Being the Most Watchable Team May be Bad News for the Bears

No NFL team put a more exciting product on the field in 2025 than the Chicago Bears, who recorded seven fourth quarter comebacks on the year. It should come as no surprise then that when NFL analyst Ben Solak published his annual ranking of the most watchable teams for the 2026 NFL season on ESPN, the Bears landed at the top of his list. This seems like a good thing, no? Perhaps it is, but part of Solak's reasoning should give Bears fans pause.

"This season's Bears might not produce as many wild swings, but they still figure to be the most explosive offense in football," writes Solak, which is great news for the Bears. But things take a bit of a turn when Solak adds, "Last season's takeaway-happy defense looks poised to give up plenty of yards and points, as well, which should lead to big scoreboards and more opportunities for fun offense."

Defensive weaknesses may make Bears games more watchable, and that's a big problem

Kevin Byard III and Austin Booke — Chicago Bears S Kevin Byard III and DE Austin Booker celebrate getting a sack. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Solak ranked watchability by four categories: big plays, competitive games, star players, and nothing offensive, meaning neither side of the ball can be truly awful. It's easy to see why the Bears scored so high on his list. Ben Johnson's top goal on offense is creating big plays. The Bears play competitive games every week, and their offense is loaded with star players. However, as Solak noted, Chicago's defense doesn't look promising, and if they're giving up points in bunches, the offense will have to play with their hair on fire just to keep up.

While that will make Bears games more exciting for casual viewers, it would put the Bears in danger of a losing season. Games that become back-and-forth affairs in the fourth quarter, where each team is trading haymakers on offense, can go either way. Remember, just a couple of bad bounces of the ball last year could have sent the Bears from atop the NFC North division to the very bottom.

In that world, we never would have gotten their miraculous Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers, and the future of this team wouldn't be half as bright as it is now. So, if Solak is right and the Bears' defense forces the offense to fight like mad late in the fourth quarter week in and week out, it's possible that those games won't go in Chicago's favor very often, and the Bears would go from standing on the cusp of a Super Bowl berth to not even qualifying for the postseason.

The Bears' wild finishes in 2025 were exciting but dicey

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams rolls out to pass against the Green Bay Packers. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Every Bears fan can recall the emotional rollercoaster they rode almost every week of the 2025 season. They sat and watched three quarters of a frustrating game, just to see Caleb Williams mount a furious comeback in the fourth quarter and secure another win. These cinematic finishes earned the team the nickname 'Cardiac Bears'.

Make no mistake, watching the Bears pull out miraculous wins was indeed fun, but there's a reason why head coach Ben Johnson ushered out the Cardiac Bears immediately after the 2025 season. He knows that you can't have sustained success year over year in that fashion. The Bears need to change their identity in 2026 from the comeback kids to the bullies who steamroll over every team in their path.

Would it be less exciting to see the Bears take early leads in their games and dominate the rest of the way? It most certainly would. It would probably make the Bears a boring watch in prime-time games. But it would also provide better, higher quality wins for the team. Winning blowouts instead of shootouts would be proof of concept that Ben Johnson's vision is becoming reality, and that his goal of breaking the 2013 Broncos' NFL scoring record is within reach.

The Bottom Line

As aforementioned, it's not all bad news for the Bears to be considered the most watchable team in the NFL for the 2026 season. It means that Caleb Williams' star is rising fast, and that fans across the NFL world want to tune in just to catch a glimpse of greatness. But on the other side of that equation is a questionable defense, one that could cost the Bears some very winnable games, including the most important games on their 2026 schedule.

I think most Bears fans would happily take dominant, lopsided games that bore casual viewers as long as it's the Bears doing the domination. It's less exciting for analysts, but far more fun for the fans.

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