After winning the NFC North and defeating the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs last season, the Chicago Bears are primed to continue building off of coach Ben Johhson’s first year. 

Caleb Williams made significant strides in his second season. The core talent around the Bears’ quarterback will return. And Williams will have another year in Johnson’s system, and that familiarity within the offense should help elevate his 58.1 completion percentage from a season ago. 

Once the Bears add some pieces on defense this offseason, Chicago should be one of the teams contending for a Lombardi trophy in 2026. Maybe that seems outlandish to some, but it’s well within the possibility of outcomes. 

Do Bears have a shot to win the Super Bowl over the Seattle Seahawks?

Bleacher Report published an article ranking the 12 biggest threats to dethrone the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. 

That’s almost a third of the NFL that Bleacher Report highlighted, but the Chicago Bears, one of eight teams to win a playoff game last season, were not among them. Instead, the Bears were classified as “Outside Threats.”

Also in the “Outside Threats” category are the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Out of that group, only the Jaguars, Texans, and Steelers made the playoffs. The Texans, like the Bears, were eliminated in the Divisional Round. 

Bleacher Report wrote this about the Bears and Jaguars: “Need to prove they weren’t one-hit wonders with shiny new head coaches in 2025.”

Two teams listed as threats are in the NFC North: Green Bay Packers (No. 8) and Detroit Lions (No. 5). 

As everyone knows, the Bears eliminated the Packers in the wild-card round at Soldier Field, but Green Bay is a good team and should be among the 12 teams mentioned. The Lions beat the Bears twice last season, with the first matchup being a 52-21 blowout. 

Honestly, Detroit deserves a spot on the list of legitimate teams to contend with the Seahawks. 

But should teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, or the Philadelphia Eagles have a spot ahead of Chicago? That’s a debate worth having, especially with the Eagles after the Bears convincingly won, 24-15, at Lincoln Financial Field last season.

Read more: Everyone seems to be in total agreement about Bears’ stellar 2025 draft class

The Bears will have to prove to doubters that they are more than just a one-hit wonder, and a fast start in the 2026 season will be the perfect way to quickly turn that skepticism into optimism about next season.