The Chicago Bears sit above .500 on the season at a record of 5-3 after a dramatic finish against the Cincinnati Bengals. The offense fired on all cylinders, and the rushing attack led by rookie RB Kyle Monangai and a breakout performance from rookie TE Colston Loveland ultimately brought the Bears another digit in the win column.
Under new HC Ben Johnson, the Bears have already matched their win total from 2024 through the first nine weeks of the season. Things are pointing upward, but the question remains on what exactly to expect from this team.
Is this 2025 Bears squad a pretender or a contender?
There are several factors to consider, so it isn’t as cut and dry as it sounds.
Chicago’s (Good, Better) Best Path To Being A Contender
The Bears unfortunately, cost themselves a nice cushion at key moments this season. Namely, the Week One matchup against the Minnesota Vikings and the Week 8 loss to the Tyler Huntley led Baltimore Ravens. A win in Week One would have the Bears as the current 2nd seed in the NFC, and a win over Baltimore would have them as the 4th seed.
Missing multiple key starters on the defense in Week One led to a Bears defensive collapse and a debut comeback win for Vikings QB JJ McCarthy.
An all-around ugly performance from Chicago against a Baltimore team without Lamar Jackson cost them yet another win to aid them in a playoff hunt. However, the Bears’ playoff hopes are still alive in an extremely competitive NFC Postseason race.
The Bears face the 2-7 New York Giants in Week 10, a winnable matchup. In Week 11, the Bears face Minnesota in a divisional rematch, followed by Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Cleveland, Green Bay, San Francisco, and Detroit.
No doubt about it, the road becomes a lot more bumpy after Week 10 if the Bears manage to take care of the Giants and improve to 6-3. It does, however, put them into a position to win four of their last eight games to reach ten wins, a mark that most think could punch your ticket into the postseason.
Some NFC teams to focus on in the coming weeks (assuming the Bears can take care of the Giants) will be the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, and the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina did the Bears a favor by upsetting the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau in Week 9, as it not only gives them a loss but hurts Green Bay’s conference record. The Packers have looked inconsistent all year, and another loss will knock them out of first place in the division, down to third, and place Chicago in second behind Detroit, likely making the Bears a 7th seed after Week 10.
A loss from San Francisco to the LA Rams this week could even push the Bears up to the sixth seed and Green Bay down to the 7th seed if they were to lose to Philadelphia. A win from San Francisco and a loss from Seattle against Arizona would actually push the Bears all the way up to the 5th seed in the NFC and Green Bay out of the playoff picture, despite how unlikely that might be.
This website below is a fun tool to analyze every possible path to playoff contention for every NFL team.
I’m not trying to put the cart before the horse, but anyone who tells you the Bears don’t currently have a shot at the postseason is lying to you.
There are several things to clean up, though, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier.
The combined winning percentage of the Bears’ remaining opponents? .557
Bears Offense Can’t Let It Rest
The Bears have a tough stretch ahead of them and will need to consistently put points on the board until the defense gets back its starters in cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. The defense plays at another level when these two are healthy and the secondary faces upcoming matchups with Justin Jefferson/Jordan Addison, Amon Ra St. Brown, DK Metcalf, AJ Brown/Devonta Smith along with Christian McCaffery and Saquon Barkley as true receiving threats out of the backfield.
The Bears have proven they can put points on the board, but against admittedly worse competition than what lies ahead.
For the Bears to keep their hopes of contention alive, they’ll have to win some games as big underdogs against great defenses. The culture under Ben Johnson hasn’t shown any sign that this roster is unwilling to face that challenge head-on.
This game will help dictate whether the Chicago Bears are pretenders or contenders.
For now, the Bears have to focus on this week’s matchup against Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants’ talented defensive front. This week is truly a must-win scenario for the Chicago Bears.
Read up on this week’s matchup against the Giants here.
