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The Chicago Bears were just 5-12 a year ago to drop to 21-47 over the last four seasons and only managed a pair of 8-8 campaigns in 2019 and 2020. There has been a complete overhaul of the coaching staff with Ben Johnson hired as head coach, Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator and Dennis Allen as the defensive coordinator.
We'll get our first look at what that might mean for the regular season when Chicago hosts Minnesota in week 1.
What won't change, for now, is Caleb Williams aft QB after he started all 17 games in 2024 as a rookie out of USC. He began his college career at Oklahoma and transferred to the Trojans to follow his head coach with the Sooners, Lincoln Riley.
In his first NFL season, Williams threw for 3,541 yards while completing 62.5% of his passes with 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He had 489 yards on the ground with, somewhat surprisingly, no touchdowns after rushing for 27 scores in college.
He was 17th in passing yards, which isn't that telling as a stat - especially when considering that Jayden Daniels was 16th with Washington, Jalen Hurts was 20th with Philadelphia, and C.J. Stroud was 15th was Houston. What is telling is the fact that Williams was sacked 68 times (4 per game) which is 16 more than Stroud at No. 2 QB on the list. His QB rating of 46.7 ranks him at No. 28 in that category, and his passer rating of 87.8 put him at No. 24.
His 6 interceptions for ties him with the fewest in any Bears season for a QB with at least 10 starts, and his streak of 326 consecutive passes without throwing an interception set a new NFL rookie record.
Chicago seems to lack any of what would be considered elusive running backs. Williams was the club's second-leading rusher to D'Andre Swift who had 959 yards and 6 TD's in 2024 after spending a season in Philadelphia where he had a career-best 1,048 yards and 1 fewer touchdown. Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai are the likely primary backups once the 53-man roster is announced.
DJ Moore and Rome Odunze return at wide receiver, but Keenan Allen has returned to the Chargers where he spent his first 11 seasons (2013-2023). The question is who will be No. 3 on the depth chart among a strong list of contenders.
Rookie first-round draft pick Colston Loveland will like join Cole Kmet as the 1-and-2 tight ends..
The offensive line gets a No. 14 ranking from Pro Football Network, but would compare more favorably if Williams makes quicker decisions to help improve league's 4th-worst 3.09 seconds average of blocking time.
Chicago's defense/special teams rank 30th in projected fantasy points at Fanduel.com. The top 3 tacklers all return - Kevin Byard III at safety (130), along with linebackers TJ Edwards (129) and Tremaine Edmunds (110). Montez Sweat led the team in sacks with 5.5.
2025 Records: 5-12 regular season, 1-5 vs. NFC North, 3-9 vs. NFC, 2-3 vs. AFC
2025 Super Bowl FanDuel odds: +3500, No. 16 of all 32 teams (No. 9 of 16 NFC teams)
2025 NFC North Champion odds: +550, No.4 of 4
General Manager: Ryan Poles (2022)
Head Coach: Ben Johnson (2025)
Offensive Coordinator: Declan Doyle (2025)
Defensive Coordinator: Dennis Allen (2025)
The Bears were the worst of all 32 teams on offense a year ago, averaging 283.5 yards per game which was 121 fewer than the No. 1 offense of the Baltimore Ravens. They were 31st passing, 26th rushing, and 28th in scoring.
New head coach Ben Johnson was the OC at Detroit which as the No. 1 NFC offense and No. 2 overall, while new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle spent the last two seasons as the tight ends coach for Denver.
The Bears on defense were 27th in 2024, with ranks of 16th against the pass and 28th against the run. New DC Dennis Allen was New Orleans' head coach from 2022-2024 after serving as the Saints' DC from 2015-2021. OC Doyle worked with Allen as an offensive assistant in New Orleans from 2019-2022.
The Bears took three players on offense and five on defense, including four players from the Big Ten (Michigan, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers), two from the SEC (Missouri and Texas A&M), one from the ACC (Boston College) and one from the American Athletic Conference (UTSA). Their first round pick was tight end Colston Loveland out of Michigan and they moved quickly to sign him and draft picks with Loveland getting a four-year deal that is fully guaranteed for $26 million with a fifth-year option.
| Round | Pick | Selection |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | TE Colston Loveland, Michigan |
| 2 | 39 | WR Luther Burdern III, Missouri |
| 2 | 56 | OT Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College |
| 2 | 62 | DT Shemar Turner, Texas A&M |
| 4 | 132 | LB Ruben Hyppolite II, Maryland |
| 5 | 169 | CB Zah Frazier, UTSA |
| 6 | 195 | OT Luke Newman, Michigan State |
| 7 | 233 | RB Kyle Monangai, Rutgers |
9/8 Vikings (MNF)
9/14 at Lions
9/21 Cowboys
9/28 at Raiders
10/5 BYE
10/13 at Commanders (MNF)
10/19 Saints
10/26 at Ravens
11/2 at Bengals
11/9 Giants
11/16 at Vikings
11/23 Steelers
11/30 at Eagles (Black Friday)
12/7 at Packers
12/14 Browns
12/21 Packers (Saturday)
12/28 at 49ers (SNF)
1/2, 1/5 or 1/6 Lions (TBD
The Bears will face every team from the NFC East (Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington). They will also battle the AFC North teams (Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh).
Sharp Football Analysis ranks the Bears' schedule as the 7th-toughest in 2025 based on opponent projected win totals. The NFL Congrove Computer Rankings assess Chicago's schedule in the middle of the pack as the 16th-toughest, based on the average power of opponents for all games scheduled in 2025.
This article is part of a series that includes similar articles regarding these NFL teams:
AFC East: Buffalo, Miami, New England, NY Jets
AFC North: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati
AFC South: Jacksonville, Tennessee, Houston, Indianapolis
AFC West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City
NFC East: Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North: Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota
NFC South: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Carolina
NFC West: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles Rams