CHICAGO \u2014 Long, blank stares across players\u2019 faces Sunday night in the Chicago Bears locker room at Soldier Field reflected the abrupt ending of the season.<\/p>\n
Harrison Mevis\u2019 42-yard field goal in overtime propelled the Los Angeles Rams to a 20-17 victory and the NFC championship game. Fourteen hours later, Bears players were filling oversized cardboard boxes with belongings Monday morning at Halas Hall.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt hurts because everybody puts a lot into this,\u201d said defensive end Daniel Hardy, speaking slowly as he parsed his thoughts. \u201cWe all sacrifice so much. And you hate it ending like that. Nobody picked us to be here. Nobody gave us a chance. We just believed. We did it as a group. We stuck together. When the pressure was on, it just made us closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust knowing it\u2019s never going to be the same group of guys ever, that\u2019s really the tough part. I would take this group of guys over anybody if we could run this back. That\u2019s the business we\u2019re in, and that\u2019s why every year counts. Lot of love and appreciation for these guys and these coaches and the way we came in and turned the culture around, turned the team around and helped ignite the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the cold reality of the NFL. It won\u2019t be the same in 2026, even if general manager Ryan Poles works to bring back a portion of the 24 free agents on the roster.<\/p>\n
After an 0-2 start, the Bears emerged as one of the league\u2019s better stories, winning nine of their next 10 games, many with stunning last-minute rallies. Eventually they did what Poles talked about when he was hired four years ago \u2014 they took the NFC North.<\/p>\n
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Quarterback Caleb Williams made dramatic improvement over the course of the season. Those curious about his ability to settle into Johnson\u2019s offense at the start of the season had become believers well before Williams threw it into reverse on fourth-and-4 from the 14-yard line in the final minute of regulation Sunday, retreated more than 25 yards and launched a touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet to force overtime.<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 ascent \u2014 paired with the emergence of an offensive line that paved the way for the league\u2019s third-ranked rushing attack and a stable of skill-position talent, including blossoming rookie tight end Colston Loveland \u2014 leaves plenty to like, especially when considering what coach Ben Johnson and his staff can accomplish with natural growth in Year 2.<\/p>\n
As demanding and exacting as Johnson was while installing the offense last spring, he\u2019ll be the same in pushing players to reach the next level in 2026. There\u2019s work to be done on defense, but wise coordinator Dennis Allen showed creative vision even in times when he appeared short-handed, including against the Rams. Holding Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and the league\u2019s top-ranked offense to 17 points in regulation should have been good enough for a victory.<\/p>\n
The Bears learned how to win in their first season above .500 since 2018 while also earning their first playoff victory in 15 years. That\u2019s a valuable lesson for those who will return \u2014 and that those headed elsewhere can take with them.<\/p>\n
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From 2022 through 2024, the Bears had a combined 15 victories. They had 12 this season, including the wild-card triumph over the Green Bay Packers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d said defensive end Dominique Robinson, who will be a free agent after arriving in the 2022 draft class. \u201cThe culture here in the city. Just that pregame buzz. The national anthem. The experience was just a lot better this year. People were involved. It just felt better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun when you\u2019re winning. Completely different. You\u2019re not stressed out. You\u2019re not worried about who\u2019s getting released and all this other stuff. People are stressed out when you\u2019re losing and the organization is trying to find a way to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my boys are here. We\u2019re having a good time. It was like college again. I\u2019m glad we were able to turn it around and go out a little bit on top. No moral victories. From the three years we had before to this, that\u2019s going out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Bears and New England Patriots \u2014 who will play the Broncos in the AFC championship game Sunday in Denver \u2014 both went from worst to first this season. Since 2002, when the NFL went to eight four-team divisions, 27 teams have gone from worst to first. Of the previous 25, only eight repeated as a playoff team the following season.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the challenge ahead of the Bears \u2014 avoiding the grip of regression \u2014 as Johnson enters an offseason with the focus squarely on decisions to ensure sustained success.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my first playoff win since 2019 in Tennessee,\u201d said free safety Kevin Byard III, an All-Pro this season who also is a pending free agent. \u201cI have been back to the playoffs three other times, but I\u2019ve been a (No.) 1 seed, got bounced out in the divisional round, then missed the playoffs the next year. Then went to Philly, got bounced out of a wild card.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not something that\u2019s very easy to do at all, but I have belief in this group, in this team, in this organization. We\u2019re all having these talks like, \u2018Hey, man, we\u2019ve got to run this back.\u2019 But there\u2019s no guarantee that it\u2019s going to happen again. It\u2019s going to definitely be tough to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Bears did ignite the city, as Hardy said, and they restored faith in a franchise that hadn\u2019t done a lot to earn it or certainly retain it in the last decade and a half. Poles and Johnson are expected to share their thoughts on the season later this week and perhaps offer hints to the offseason ahead.<\/p>\n
As players filtered out with gear to stuff in their vehicles, their heads were high. Exit meetings offered words of encouragement with a few things to work on while they\u2019re on their own.<\/p>\n
In the hallway stood a small group of veteran scouts. Told they had made a good run, there were affirmative nods.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot far enough,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n
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