Rolling into the 2026 season, despite everyone agreeing the Chicago Bears are the real deal, it doesn't feel like many people actually believe in them.
The Bears won the NFC North last year and beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round, proving that they are here to stay. Despite all that success in 2025, their schedule has experts predicting a drop-off for this Bears team.
Chicago goes into the new year with the toughest schedule in the NFL, making it very slim to repeat as division champions and make a Super Bowl run. The Bears feel more like a sleeper pick for experts to roll with, and it might be an easy one, given their talent.
Bears look like easiest sleeper pick among NFL teams in 2026
Sports Illustrated writer Matt Verderame named six NFL teams that are sleeper picks to win the Super Bowl. Verderame picked the Bears as one of them with an important question to ask.
"How are the Bears sitting at 25-to-1 odds after last season?Â
In his first season, coach Ben Johnson won 11 games and led Chicago to its first NFC North title since 2018, when Mitchell Trubisky was under center. Much of the team’s resurgence can be credited to the combo of Johnson and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, who threw for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns. He was also electrifying in the postseason, navigating an 18-point comeback in the wild-card round over the Packers before going toe-to-toe with the Rams in an overtime defeat.Â
Also, the revamped offensive line deserves credit. Last winter, the Bears brought in guards Jonah Jackson and All-Pro Joe Thuney, along with center Drew Dalman. Dalman earned Pro Bowl honors but shockingly retired this offseason, leaving his void to be filled by rookie second-round pick Logan Jones and/or veteran Garrett Bradbury. Behind the new interior, Williams’s sacks went from a league-high 68 as a rookie to 24 last season. If center isn’t a constant issue, the front remains a strength with second-team All-Pro Darnell Wright anchoring the right side.Â
If there’s a concern beyond center, it’s the defense. In 2025, Chicago ranked 29th in yards and 23rd in points allowed, while also finishing 25th in sacks (35) and quarterback hits (84). While the safeties were addressed with first-round pick Dillon Thieneman and the signing of former Seahawks star Coby Bryant, the rest of the defense is primarily the same, save for depth signings and the release of linebacker Tremaine Edmunds."
Yes, the defense is a big concern for this Bears team after finishing last in yards and points allowed, but this offense can't be ignored. They were a top 10 unit that was so good at running the football after being ranked third.
The talent on this roster is really good as well, with a lot of untapped potential in guys in the first three years of their NFL careers. Guys like Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, Caleb Williams, Kyle Monangai, and Dillon Thieneman all have the potential to be All-Pro players if given the chance.
Read more: Bears' ranking of defensive triplet exposes where the major gap is with unit
There's a lot of doubt from a Bears team that is young and hungry, with Ben Johnson putting together one of the strongest young rosters in the NFL. Give this Bears team a chance, and even if they end up going 9-8 on the season and barely sneak into the playoffs, they have enough talent to make a run for a Super Bowl.
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