The Chicago Bears finally crawled out of the NFC North basement last year, winning their first division title since 2018 and finishing higher than fourth out of four for the first time in three seasons.
In Ben Johnson's first season, the Bears used a slew of comebacks to turn an 0-2 start into an 11-6 finish. Chicago made just its third playoff appearance in 15 seasons and won its first playoff game since 2010.
The positivity from the quick turnaround under Johnson brings hope that Chicago is on an upward trajectory, but even from the owner's suite, there is no resting on laurels.
"It was a great run," Bears chairman George McCaskey told the team's official website last week at the Annual League Meeting. "It was a miraculous run. Surreal run. But ultimately, we fell short of our goal. The goal is to win the Super Bowl. So there's some more work to be done.
"I think we have a good core of players. They fight like hell for each other. They fight like hell for their coach. I think they're confident that he will find some way for them to win, and that's a great and elusive ingredient in our great game. He's already said that complacency is not going to be an issue. What do we have to be complacent about? We haven't achieved our goal."
McCaskey's comments echo those of Johnson, who turned the page to 2026 soon after the heartbreaking Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The owner, who aggressively sought to bring in Johnson last season, boasted about his coach's ability to keep players fighting and believing in those close matchups.
"He's intense," McCaskey said. "He's intelligent. He's innovative. He's passionate. He's got the players believing in him and, more importantly, believing in themselves. No matter what happens, this group of players figures, 'We're not out of it, we're going to have to find a way to win, and we will find a way to win.'"
The Bears took significant steps forward in 2025. They flipped the division on its head. They won a playoff game. They reignited the one-sided rivalry with Green Bay. The question is how big is Step 2 for Johnson & Co?
