The 2025 season has become an unusual experience for the Chicago Bears, as they find themselves in an awkward position: four games over .500, 10 games into the regular season.
Chicago picked up the most crucial win of the season after the Bears got a game-winning field goal from Cairo Santos to take down their NFC North division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, 19-17. The win puts the Bears at 7-3 and maintains their first-place spot in the division.
After the game, starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson spoke with the media about winning these close games, with five game-winning drives now led by quarterback Caleb Williams. Stevenson said something Bears fans have not heard in a long, long time.
"I was saying earlier we can't even celebrate, this is becoming normal."
"That's the NFL. We could win by .5 and I'm happy."
This Bears team is built differently from others that have come through Chicago
Where does it all start? It's all about Ben Johnson and the culture he has brought to this Bears team. Things are quite different now that Johnson has taken the same culture that made his previous team, the Detroit Lions, successful and put them in an odd position of winning time and time again.
It helps that the Bears currently have the most clutch quarterback in the NFL in Williams. As previously mentioned, Williams has led five game-winning drives, which is pacing to be an NFL record for a quarterback.
Chicago's defense has been wildly inconsistent as they have allowed a lot of chunk yards in games, but they now have 22 turnovers on the season after adding two more to the stat line against the Vikings.
Read more: Bears' Week 11 win propelled them higher in the latest NFC playoff picture
This is a completely different team from any that either Matt Nagy or Matt Eberflus led. The 2025 Bears are the best version this franchise has had in a long time.