The pain of watching a team other than the Chicago Bears was felt by everyone in the Windy City when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
One noticeable thing about Seattle was how dominant they were on defense. That unit pitched a shutout through three quarters, sacked Drake Maye six times, created three turnovers, and scored a touchdown.
If Bears fans can tell head coach Ben Johnson about one thing, it's to pay attention to what the defense did for the Seahawks. They certainly did something right to get themselves to the point of domination in the Super Bowl.
Ben Johnson's lesson from Super Bowl is get the defense better
The 2025 season was simply not good for Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit in Chicago, as they were ranked among the worst in the league. They were 29th in total defense (361.8 yards allowed per game), 22nd in pass defense (227.2 yards allowed per game), 27th in rush defense (134.5 yards allowed per game), and 23rd in points (24.4 points allowed per game).
One thing the defense did well, though, was creating turnovers, as they led the NFL with 33 takeaways. Safety Kevin Byard led the NFL in interceptions with seven.
Chicago must find a way to get their defensive line rolling and get more pressure on the quarterback, as that was a big problem as well. Bears defensive end Montez Sweat got 10 of the team's 35 season sacks, which only beat six teams in the league.
There is work to do all around for the Bears' defense, with more pass-rushing support and help in the secondary. Key players in the secondary, like Byard, Jaquan Brisker, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Nahshon Wright, are all free agents with at least half likely not coming back. That leaves a lot of work for Bears general manager Ryan Poles to find replacements who can improve the secondary for Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon.
On the defensive line, it's simply just finding one more defensive end to help Sweat. Whether that comes from Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby, or someone in the NFL Draft, it doesn't matter; more help is needed.
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The Bears' defense has good individual players, but it struggled to play well as a unit, except in the red zone. If Chicago adds key pieces to the defense, this team is ready for a Super Bowl run, but Ben Johnson has to push for changes to come on that side of the ball.