The Bears have problems, but are they as dramatic as those of the other presumed Super Bowl contenders?

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Three things I think I know about the 7-2 Bears , who — “a win is a win” baloney aside — backed into a bye week with a mistake-filled 27-24 near-disaster against the Buccaneers at Soldier Field: 1. At least they have first-world problems: Heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Bears had a dearth of warm, healthy bodies in their defensive backfield. Their esteemed rushing attack is in a five-game relative lull, all without Kyle Monangai, as D’Andre Swift keeps taking hits. And then there’s the Caleb Williams question: Was an out-of-nowhere four-interception fiasco just a meaningless one-off or are there cracks in the foundation? But look around the league at some of the other leading teams and ask if you’d want the Bears to trade places. The Chiefs, for example, are 6-2, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn’t completed a pass of at least 20 yards through the air since Week 4. Beardom would be up for grabs with frustration if Williams were dinking and dunking like the three-time Super Bowl MVP. As potent as the 6-3 Packers’ passing game is — and it’s scary-good — they’re still the bottom-ranked rushing team in the NFL, and now they’ll be without Josh Jacobs for another, potentially lengthy stretch. The 6-2 Lions rank 32nd — dead last — against the pass. The 7-1 Bills, commonly viewed as the best team in the NFL, rank 29th against the pass even after winning easily Monday against the Vikings and QB Carson Wentz, who saw Williams’ Sunday-night meltdown and raised him a fat stack of pure incompetence. And the 6-2 Vikes? At best, they have easily the worst QB1 in the NFC North in Kyler Murray and a reputed QB-whisperer coach, Kevin O’Connell, who might not be able to count on his offense whatsoever. We’re only halfway through the regular season — nine weeks down, nine to go — but some of those could be fatal flaws. The Bears’ flaws don’t seem as dramatic. 2. Turnovers? What turnovers? After leading the NFL last season in both takeaways and fewest turnovers committed — to the tune of an unreal differential of plus-22 — the Bears have lost their mojo in this area. Their 17 giveaways are tied for third-most in the league. They’re the only team in the division with a negative differential. Fudging the numbers sure helps, though. If you take away (get it?) the Bears’ 12 turnovers in their three worst games — five against the Bucs, five against the Packers and two against the Vikings — they’re averaging less than one per outing and are a perfectly wonderful plus-five. See how easy that was? 3. Good, better, give it a rest? Not to tell coach Ben Johnson how to do his job, but he might want to get a new post-win chant warming up in the bullpen. If you watched the video the Bears put out of the locker-room scene Sunday, you might agree the “Good, better, best!” sounded anticlimactic and fell flat. Is a Super Bowl contender going to keep on chanting the same thing, ad infinitum , even after its ugliest of victories? Eventually, there will be a pair of water skis and an Arthur Fonzarelli leather jacket with Johnson’s name on them. "Our best football is yet to come" pic.twitter.com/c3XpbnREtS — Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 9, 2026 Caleb-o-meter: 4 out of 10 In one impossibly bad quarter, Williams went overboard in paying tribute to Jay Cutler, who rarely was far removed from his last egregious pick thrown while backpedaling. Wizardry in the face of pressure, it was not. “I’m typically the big eraser,” Williams said. If only there were an eraser big enough to wipe this performance from our memories. Not halfway bad The NFL’s top five teams at midseason: 1. Bills, 2. 49ers, 3. Jaguars, 4. Bears, 5. Broncos. Top five players, offense: 1. Josh Allen, QB, Bills; 2. Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals; 3. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Chiefs; 4. Jordan Love, QB, Packers; 5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seahawks. Top five players, defense: 1. Will Anderson Jr., DE, Texans; 2. Fred Warner, LB, 49ers; 3. Jeffery Simmons, DT, Bears; 4. Greg Rousseau, LB, Bills; 5. Chase Young, DE, Saints. Top five coaches: 1. John Harbaugh, Giants; 2. Johnson, Bears; 3. Kyle Shanahan, 49ers; 4. Liam Coen, Jaguars; 5. Sean Payton, Broncos. You’re free to quibble with my selections. I shall allow it this time only. Department of redundancy department Even after the Vikings’ 23-6 loss to the Bills — only the sick and twisted could’ve watched such a display until the end — the NFC North is 20-4 against opponents from outside the division. At 7-0, the Bears lead the way. The only other divisions checking in with winning records against the rest of the league are the AFC North at 16-8 and the NFC West at 14-9. Related Bucs QB Baker Mayfield accuses Bears of mimicking his cadence Bears QB Caleb Williams must use four-interception game vs. Buccaneers to keep growing Bears’ grades are in. How did they do against the Buccaneers? SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Steve Greenberg Chicago Sun-Times Reporter/columnist, sports Next Up In Chicago Bears Bears work out DT Jordan Elliott Bills top punchless Vikings on ‘Monday Night Football’ Bears QB Caleb Williams must use four-interception game vs. Buccaneers to keep growing Bears' Ben Johnson on trade deadline: 'We’ll see if there is another move or two to be made' Bucs QB Baker Mayfield accuses Bears of mimicking his cadence Bears' Cairo Santos 'had to have my teammates’ backs' with game-winner