Bears' missing piece for Super Bowl win is painfully obvious to everyone

The Chicago Bears' offense is in about as good of shape as it has ever been after all the years of work that general manager Ryan Poles has done and the influence that head coach Ben Johnson has brought in the last year, but there are still some big questions to answer.

Chicago's defense is not in the best spot in the work as they struggled last season, finishing in the bottom 10 in total yards allowed despite the fact that they led the NFL in turnovers created with 33. While some moves were made in the offseason like signing Coby Bryant and Devin Bush as well as drafting Dillon Thieneman, there is still much left to be desired with the Bears.

One position group has had more attention than any other among the Bears fans base that needs to be addressed. It may not happen the rest of the offseason, but if the team wants a Super Bowl, it will occur in the next year.

Ryan Poles must address one position group before a Super Bowl can be won

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame evaluated the Bears' roster and how they can win the Super Bowl in 2026. For Verderame, it's pretty simple on what the Bears need to do with the roster: get some help at edge rusher for Montez Sweat.

"Poles can’t go into the season with the current depth chart. The Bears have Sweat and almost nothing else of note at defensive end, with other options such as Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy. In 2025, Odeyingbo and Hardy combined for one sack and five quarterback hits, while Booker provided quality play with 4.5 sacks and 12 QB hits, albeit on 80% of the defensive snaps.

For a championship-caliber team, Booker is a third option and a rotational player getting around half the snaps. To that point, Poles can look to sign a veteran despite being limited with $8.2 million in cap space, fifth-lowest in the league. It’s a problem that must be rectified after tying for 22nd with 35 sacks a year ago.

There are still veteran options on the market, including Cam Jordan and Jadeveon Clowney, with Jordan coming off 10.5 sacks. Both are well into their 30s and will cost only a one-year deal. And, it would stand to reason that each would be enticed by playing for a contender. The front office needs to find an upgrade to help Sweat."

This is a defense that only had 33 sacks in 17 regular season games last year, leaving a lot to be desired. Despite all this, the Bears still decided to do nothing and didn't bring in any help from the outside as it was really one of the few positions on the roster left untouched.

Many questioned the move by Poles, but he is still banking on Odeyingbo and Booker to come through for him. While there is more optimism with Booker, Odeyingbo has been an early candidate for free agent bust after just one sack in eight games before his season-ending injury.

The Bears can no longer leave that edge rusher position without support as Sweat can't do it all on his own. Hopefully Poles will wise up and get something done before the trade deadline in the 2026 season.

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