Bears are upstarts in Year 1 of Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams pairing, but bigger things await
The Bears finally look like they’re built to last.
Not necessarily in these playoffs, although it is wide open, but however deep they go, it’s clear this is the start of something much bigger than merely a one-season surge. They have their coach in Ben Johnson, an apparent rising star at quarterback in Caleb Williams and a solid foundation with which to open a window to contend for a championship.
If they can get past the Rams, arguably the NFL’s most complete team, on Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs, perhaps that window already is open. If they can’t and this is where it ends, there’s no question it opens next season.
Chicago has been longing for a sustained run like the Bears had in the 1980s, the Bulls had in the ‘90s and the Blackhawks had in the 2010s.
Johnson and Williams have the potential to set them on a course like that, making this much different than the last two times the Bears hoped they’d figured it out.
Lovie Smith’s teams had the defense to get in the mix, but couldn’t figure out the quarterback. Matt Nagy was Coach of the Year with a world-class defense in 2018, but that was his only winning season as he and quarterback Mitch Trubisky quickly unraveled.
This looks different, though, and when Williams talked about being here with Johnson “for a while” to “win a bunch of games,” it’s believable. There’s clear evidence he has gotten better in less than a year working with Johnson, most notably his jaw-dropping performance in the comeback win over the Packers for the Bears’ first playoff win since 2011, and the anticipation that he’ll skyrocket next season.
Johnson has developed Williams in a way that the Bears failed their last two first-round picks: He has coached him hard and demanded that he master essentials as a passer, but has allowed him to maintain what got him here with improbable, off-platform throws that few quarterbacks can make.
The first two steps toward competing for a championship are finding the coach and quarterback. Done and done.
Those two have a long way to go to catch the Rams’ Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, however. Since they linked up in 2021, they’ve been in the playoffs 4 of 5 seasons and had two legitimate chances to win a championship — doing so in ’21 and having a strong shot this season.
The sparkling examples lately were the Patriots with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, perhaps the greatest ever at their respective positions, and the Chiefs with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
But to a lesser extent, look where the Lions went when they put Dan Campbell and Jared Goff in place. The Packers made the playoffs each of Jordan Love’s first three seasons starting for Matt LaFleur. The examples go on with the Ravens, Bills and 49ers.
Teams rarely go from the bottom to the top in one season. They typically climb a ladder, rising incrementally over multiple seasons, and making the divisional round looks like the Bears’ first big step.
They leaped from 5-12 last season to 11-6, an NFC North title and a playoff victory. That’s a great spot from which to vault themselves into championship pursuit next season.
Dream big now. Swing big next.
If Williams truly is stepping into the top tier of quarterbacks, they have two seasons left on his rookie contract. That’s a precious window for teams to contend because of the massive salary-cap savings at the sport’s most expensive position. Williams, for example, will make $10.8 million and $12.6 million over the next two seasons, whereas Stafford cost the Rams $47.5 million this season.
If the Bears can get $50 million performance from Williams for a fraction of that money, they’ve got the room to go big at other positions. Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy all went to the Super Bowl on their rookie contracts within the past decade.
The Bears spent big this season, but still showed caution and restraint. Going all-in at the wrong time can set a team back for years, as the organization saw in the Ryan Pace era. They still built a solid roster around Williams, with some of general manager Ryan Poles’ early acquisitions paying off and some of Johnson’s course corrections enhancing it.
Every significant addition offensively in Johnson’s first year was a success. He revamped the offensive line with three new interior starters, and rookie left tackle Ozzy Trapilo showed promise before a season-ending knee injury. Tight end Colston Loveland, wide receiver Luther Burden and running back Kyle Monangai all look like significant pieces of their future.
The defense needs work next, and the Bears will have to weigh whether they’re one star away. Raiders five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby could be the missing piece.
It all depends on what Poles and the Bears believe they have at the end of this season. And regardless of what happens Sunday, they look ready to go for it.