The Chicago Bears have struggled with stability at the quarterback position and at head coach for what feels like forever. But with Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson in place for the foreseeable future, the Bears are on an upward trajectory.
Chicago defeated one of its division rivals in the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs and nearly upset the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round to reach the NFC title game for the first time since 2010.
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The 2025 Bears finished this season ranked sixth in yards per game (369.2) and ninth in points per game (25.9). That was a huge improvement from 2024, when Chicago was dead last in yards per game and toward the bottom in points. Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski discussed the possibility of regression for the Bears offense in 2026 on a recent episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.
Pianowski believes the pieces are in place for the Bears to have continued success but the NFC North division remains a gauntlet to traverse each season. If anything will hold back Chicago, its the competitiveness in the North.
Harmon compares the Bears to the 2024 Commanders, who regressed big time this season in Jayden Daniels’ second year. The differences is that the Bears are loaded with young offensive talent in TE Colston Loveland, and WRs Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, plus RB Kyle Monangai.
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Harmon also points to all the fourth-quarter heroics that were needed to lift the Bears to an 11-6 record and the division title. While Chicago would be ripe for regression given all the comeback wins, Williams’ volatility also allows for growth and improvement. And that is also true for all of the young talent on offense for the Bears.
Williams, 24, finished his second NFL season just shy of 4,000 passing yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 17 games. He led the NFL with six fourth-quarter comebacks and added one in the playoffs.
Odunze looked like he was on track for a breakout second campaign but injuries derailed his season. He finished with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.
Loveland, a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, showed the most promise of any young Bears pass-catcher with 58 receptions for 713 yards and six touchdowns. He really didn’t start seeing significant snaps until around midseason.
Yahoo analyst Justin Boone has plenty of Bears players riddled throughout his top-150 rankings of players for 2026 fantasy football drafts. See where they land here.
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