NFL writer suggestion on Bears' Super Bowl window will crush fans' hopes in 2026

The Chicago Bears had a magical 2025 season that has convinced everyone they will be in the running for the Super Bowl for a long time.

Chicago finished the season with an 11-6 record and won the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The Bears took down the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card game after coming back from 18 points down and came within three points of the Los Angeles Rams in the next round of the playoffs.

After proving they can compete with any team in the NFL, the Bears face a lot of pressure this offseason to make the necessary moves to keep competing for a Super Bowl. That might not be the case for Chicago anymore.

Bears might have missed their one and only year in Super Bowl window

CBS Sports writer Garrett Podell listed five NFL teams that are poised to have a big fall from grace in 2026. Podell actually proposed that the Bears might have already missed their Super Bowl window.

"OverTheCap.com projects the Bears to have the ninth-fewest effective cap space, defined as the cap space a team will possess after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie draft class, in the NFL entering the 2026 offseason at -$9.49 million. That will hamper their ability to improve the roster. The biggest area where the Bears need to improve is on defense. Chicago was the NFL's No. 9 scoring offense (25.9 points per game) while it was the league's No. 23 scoring defense (24.4 points per game allowed). Continuity typically helps, and they'll have Dennis Allen back as their defensive coordinator in 2026.

However, the Bears don't have the money to maintain that continuity in their defensive backfield. Safety Kevin Byard, a 2025 first-team All-Pro after leading the NFL with seven interceptions, is set to become a free agent, as is fellow starting safety Jaquan Brisker, nickel C.J. Gardner-Johnson and outside cornerback Nahshon Wright, who led the NFL with eight takeaways (five interceptions and three fumble recoveries). The potential losses of both Byard and Wright, who combined to account for 15 of Chicago's NFL-most 33 takeaways (45.4%), could certainly set the Bears' defense back.

While it sounds wild to say, the 2025 season may have been the Bears' best shot to make a Super Bowl run with Williams on his rookie contract."

It seems as though it's premature to count out the Bears, especially after the success the team had in the NFL Draft last year with Ozzy Trapilo, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai all becoming impact players in Year 1. Poles and his scouting department proved that they can find the right talent for the roster.

Chicago has room to restructure deals in the offseason so that it can use the money to re-sign their key players, plus make a big trade for a pass rusher. Don't count out the Bears yet, as the Super Bowl window just opened up.