History tells us that teams who perform well in one-score games often come back to the pack the following year, while teams who lose a lot of one-score games tend to be the surprise winners.
It is the teams that can win enough games with dominance that establish sustained success. While the Chicago Bears are not there yet, they are one of the teams lost a lot of one-score games.
Chicago Bears could be set for a bounce back season
They only won five games, but two of them were in dominant fashion, blowing out the Panthers and Jaguars. Yes, those teams are bad, but dominating the bad teams is the sign of a team that can make the leap. If just a couple of those one-score games had flipped, we could have seen the Bears as a seven, eight, maybe even nine-win football team.
The Bears had a chance to be a contender, but the combination of rookie quarterback, inept coaching and various issues caused them lack focus and lose the tight games on the margins.
So, the team that had the potential to win nine games upgraded the coaching staff, made significant additions to the offensive line, while also adding some core skill players and hiring a well-known defensive coordinator, could win games in 2025. That is not the craziest thought to have.
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Meanwhile, the Vikings were 8-1, the Lions were 6-2, and the Packers were 5-3 when it came to one-score games. Those teams had their dominant wins as well, but if they just fall a little closer to average in these tight game scenarios, and the Bears sneak up closer to average than the gap between these teams may not be as wide as you think.
There is a reason why the Bears are one of the three best bets to go from worst place to first place in their division.