The offseason is when every team believes it has a good chance to make the playoffs. So, Bleacher Report went through every team and made a one-sentence case for what would cause the Chicago Bears to make a run to the playoffs.
"Caleb Williams makes major strides as a sophomore with a solid supporting cast, and the Vikings and/or Packers fall on their faces."
Williams needs his supporting cast, but NFC North picture might look different in 2025
This is fair and what most people are thinking. The solid supporting cast would include the play-calling head coach Ben Johnson, who would be the other direction that the author could have gone if he wanted to make a case for the Bears. Like any team, the case to be made starts at head coach and quarterback, and the Bears at least have promise in both areas, which is what makes this more intriguing than most.
The one interesting addition is that the Vikings and/or Packers would have to fall on their face. It is interesting to note that the author does not believe Detroit will miss the playoffs. With their starting center retiring, they did not invest much in improving their pass rush. Beyond Johnson leaving, they also lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who took Tanner Engstrand, the Lions' pass game coordinator. They lost a lot this offseason and should be considered live to fall off as well.
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Still, there is a chance that the Packers still play well, but the Bears are just better than they were last year and take that step. It would be considered a fall off if these teams had worse records, but it is not an expectation that any of these teams go from playoff contender to simply awful.
It could just be that Williams went number one overall for a reason, Johnson was highly regarded for a reason and an offseason after hitting the offense hard, they right back to that well, boosting the talent level on that side of the ball. That is the one sentence outcome that leads Chicago to the playoffs.