There is one weakness to the 2025 Chicago Bears that has been obvious all year: the defense has struggled against the pass.
There have been multiple key injuries to the secondary, including Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson, that have hurt them, but it might end up being the thing that holds them back from winning a Super Bowl. ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote about each Super Bowl contender's biggest weakness, and the Bears' struggle to cover slot receivers, which is C.J. Gardner-Johnson's job, but it actually isn't him that struggles with that.
"The Chicago defense has not been as strong as the Denver defense overall, but the Bears have the same weakness: defending against opposing slot receivers. Only the Jets allowed a worse DVOA to opposing slot receivers, and no other team has allowed more yards per attempt (9.1) or total touchdowns (13) than Chicago.
However, according to my coverage DVOA metric, the issue is not the main slot defender, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who joined the team in Week 9. The problem is when opponents can get their slot receivers onto other defenders -- primarily cornerback Nick McCloud, safety Jaquan Brisker and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Most of Chicago's prospective playoff opponents rank quite low in how often they throw to slot receivers, although Tampa Bay is an exception."
CJGJ isn't the problem in the slot for Chicago
The Bears brought in Gardner-Johnson in the first place because McCloud was awful in coverage in the slot and has continued to get diced by passing games because of it. Brisker is in the final year of his contract, and the main reason he is one foot out the door has been because of his coverage issues.
Chicago is ranked 21st in the NFL against the pass, allowing 222 yards per game. The multiple starters in the secondary played a role in that, but it's good to see that Gardner-Johnson isn't the main reason.
All Bears fans would have said the same thing, as he has created a spark in the defense that desperately needed it midway through the season. Gardner-Johnson had a stretch of games where he had three sacks in two contests, which is rare to see in a cornerback.
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The weakness has been exposed on defense for the Bears, but Gardner-Johnson is not the reason for it and might be more of a reason for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to make sure his new addition stays in the slot as much as possible.