ESPN 2024 NFL Season simulation has major projection for Chicago Bears

It's a new era for the Chicago Bears when they take the field at Soldier Field on Sunday for the first game of Caleb Williams' rookie season.

The Bears selected Williams with the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft and it was the move that defined the offseason. Everything the Bears did this past offseason, bringing in D'Andre Swift and Keenan Allen during free agency; selecting Rome Odunze with the ninth overall selection; and anointing Williams the starting quarterback right away has all been done to ensure that the rookie quarterback is comfortable when not only the offense but being the leader on the team.

It's a unique position that the Bears are in as despite having the first overall pick and Williams being a rookie quarterback, there is a path toward the team making the playoffs this season. In fact, Seth Walder of ESPN simulated the 2024 season and has the Bears making the playoffs.

The Bears weren't a one-and-done team, either. They upset the No. 2-seeded Philadelphia Eagles 23-17 in the wild-card round. Sure, the team lost to the Detroit Lions 27-16 in the divisional round in this simulation, but Chicago took a great first step forward to set the table for 2025 and beyond. Williams is here, and the Bears are back.

Not only did Walder have the Bears finishing the 2024 season with a 10-7 record, he has the Bears defeating the Philadelphia Eagles during Wild Card weekend. For as much as national pundits seem to think that Bears fans are buying their Super Bowl tickets now, Walder's prediction is probably the ceiling for what to expect from the Bears in 2024.

A playoff berth for the Bears in 2024 would mark the beginning of a streamline of success.

The outcome outlined by Walder would certainly mark a successful season for the Bears but this seems to be a good time to remind everyone that the Bears do not have to make the playoffs in order for it to be a successful season. The fact is that two of the NFC's top contenders are ahead of the Bears in their own division with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. But, if Williams proves to be the answer at the quarterback position with a clear ascension from now to the end of the season, it will mark a productive season for the Bears.