The 2025 season has been so different from any Chicago Bears fans have seen in a long time, as they are off to a fast start.
After a 0-2 start to the year, the Bears are now 8-3, in first place in the NFC North, and very much in the hunt to be the number one seed in the NFC. Bears head coach Ben Johnson shared with the media that the locker room buys into the team's culture.
"I think we’ve got the right type of guys. Ryan (Poles) has really done a great job of constructing the roster that way. The veteran leadership is outstanding — Kevin Byard, Joe Thuney, Grady (Jarrett).
"We probably have 10-12 guys that we really lean into on a weekly basis just to get a pulse of the team, and they do a really good job of keeping the main thing the main thing in the locker room.
"As a coaching staff, we always try to have the right messaging for whatever that week entails, the path to victory, to team building, things of that nature. I think it’s come along really well.
"It’s really those veterans that I just can’t sing their praises enough."
Bears being run the right way by Johnson
This was always going to be a project many Bears fans thought would take longer than they expected. Johnson inherited a mess left by Matt Eberflus, as Chicago never had a winning record under him in three years.
To the credit of Poles and Johnson, they indeed brought in the right personnel, rebuilding the offensive line with Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson to protect Caleb Williams from being sacked 68 times again. Jarrett brought in another leader on defense, led by Jaylon Johnson and Byard.
Even the changes to Williams have been noticeable, as he had poor body language throughout last season. This year, there's more confidence and composure with Williams, which Ben Johnson brought out.
Read more: DJ Moore was every Bears fan at the end of Week 12 close victory over Steelers
There is real hope the Bears will be a playoff team in 2025 and beyond, thanks to the work of Johnson and Poles. This franchise is in a much better spot this year than it has been in the last five years.