Bear Digest

Built-In Cap on Bears Success in First Caleb Williams Season

Even with more talent and an explosive offense, the Bears will face a difficult task getting to the playoffs based on one cold fact according to analysts.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears cornerback Terell Smith moves in for the tackle against the Lions last year in a 28-13 Bears win.
Bears cornerback Terell Smith moves in for the tackle against the Lions last year in a 28-13 Bears win. / Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

When the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams ruled the NFC West and Arizona got Kyler Murray, that division looked like the league's most dominant.

It's never good to be caught up in a division like this if you're not one of the top two teams, and this could be a situation developing for the Bears this season.

Despite all the improvements they've made and possibility of finally having a franchise quarterback, the Bears could very well be in the NFL's best division. As such, their improvements might not even show up in the win-loss column, or in a playoff berth.

The strength of divisions seems cyclical. The NFC East went from a dominant division to NFC Least for several years. 

Now it appears the NFC North has the title of league's best division, or at least one of the two best. This topic was broached in two different article without common themes.

NFL.com deputy editor of written content Gennaro Filice wrote about the bandwagons starting up in different places now, and the very first one he touched on was the Bears.

He cited all of the positive moves and draft picks, stressing what quarterback Caleb Williams could finally mean for Bears fans so eternally tied to the ground attack rather than the pass.

"What's stopping me from coming right out and predicting Williams and the Bears will go worst to first like the C.J. Stroud-led Texans just did?" Filice wrote. "The division.

"The AFC South was there for the taking last season. In 2024, the NFC North very well could be the best division in football."

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It's hard to debate it when both the Packers and Lions made the top eight teams in the playoffs and both came made good runs at toppling the 49ers.

It goes beyond this, of course. The Bears and Vikings might be a step behind the other two in overall roster depth but a case can be made for the Bears having the best defense in the division and now one of the most explosive offenses. The Vikings overturned their defense and stocked up on players who can fit Brian Flores' scheme. They could remain competitive based entirely on his defense, until the offense can come around with a new QB.

Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano saw something similar in an article simply looking at the NFC North.

"Williams and his stacked receiving corps quickly develop chemistry on the field, the Bears' offense could have a memorable season and break some records for a franchise that's never had a Manzano called Williams the tipping point as a rookie for Bears success.

However, he pointed out a potential flaw limiting how much they can improve in relation to Detroit with Jared Goff and Green Bay with Jordan Love.

"This intriguing offense won’t get far, however, if the offensive line continues to struggle as it did throughout Justin Fields's tenure in Chicago," Manzano wrote.

While it is true the offensive line struggled with pass blocking at times and allowed over 50 sacks in each of the last three seasons. What might not be true is it was all their fault.

Justin Fields' inability to get rid of the ball quickly and his issues moving into trouble rather than avoiding it were responsible, at least in part, for some sacks.

In this way, perhaps it is on the line. Williams is also known for holding the ball, although his eyes are upfield on the coverage scheme and not on looking for lanes to run.

In the end, the stacked competition doesn't have to mean the Bears sit at home for the playoffs again. Fox Sports' Dave Helman put out his way-to-early playoff prediction and finds the Bears getting into the postseason even with the Packers and Lions in the division.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.