October 19, 2026
October 19, 2026
The Chicago Bears’ 2025 season was the year the franchise finally stopped waiting for tomorrow. A team that limped to 5-12 the year before clawed its way to an 11-6 record, an NFC North title and a playoff win over its oldest rival. Ben Johnson arrived with a mandate to build around Caleb Williams, and the young quarterback rewrote the club’s passing record book in his first season under the new coach.
Chicago needed more than a new voice after Matt Eberflus was fired in November 2024. On January 21, 2025, the Bears hired Johnson, the offensive coordinator who had turned the Detroit Lions into the league’s highest-scoring team. He became the 18th head coach in franchise history. Johnson paired his creative offensive mind with veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, a former head coach in New Orleans.
The message was clear from the start. Williams, the first overall pick in 2024, would finally get a scheme and a staff built to develop him.
Johnson knew that no young quarterback survives behind a leaky line. The front office traded for guards Joe Thuney from Kansas City and Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams. It then signed center Drew Dalman in free agency, rebuilding the interior almost overnight. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo added veteran muscle on the other side of the ball.
The draft delivered more weapons. Chicago selected Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick and Missouri receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. A seventh-round running back named Kyle Monangai would become one of the class’s most pleasant surprises.
The opening night against Minnesota offered a cruel preview of old habits. Chicago led 17-6 after three quarters, helped by a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Nahshon Wright. Then the lead unraveled, and the Vikings scored 21 unanswered points to escape 27-24. A week later, the Lions buried the Bears 52-21 in Detroit, and familiar doubts crept back into the city.
Johnson refused to let the season drift. His team answered with a 31-14 win over Dallas, the first victory of his head coaching career. That result started a four-game winning streak that changed the tone of the year.
Close games had haunted the Bears for years, and this team learned to win them. In Las Vegas, Chicago blocked a potential game-winning field goal to hold on 25-24, securing the 800th victory in franchise history. On Monday night in Washington, Jake Moody’s late kick sealed another 25-24 win. D’Andre Swift powered that night with 108 rushing yards and a 55-yard touchdown reception. Back home against New Orleans, Allen’s defense forced four turnovers in a 26-14 win that stretched the streak to four games.
That defensive identity mattered as much as anything Johnson drew up. Chicago’s secondary hunted the football every week, and the takeaways repeatedly bailed out an offense still learning a new system.
A loss in Baltimore briefly slowed the momentum, but the Bears roared back in Cincinnati. With 17 seconds left in a 47-42 shootout, Williams found Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown that announced the rookie as a star. Chicago then rallied from a 20-10 deficit to beat the New York Giants. In Minnesota, Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kick return set up Cairo Santos for a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
The run peaked on Black Friday in Philadelphia. Swift rushed for 125 yards and Monangai added 130 in a 24-15 victory over the defending champions. They became the first Bears duo to each top 100 rushing yards in a game since 1985. That stretch defined the season, because it proved this roster could beat anyone, anywhere.
The Packers stood between Chicago and the division crown. Green Bay won the first meeting 28-21 at Lambeau Field, and the race tightened. After a 31-3 rout of Cleveland, the rematch at Soldier Field became the defining regular-season night of the year.
Trailing late, Chicago faced fourth-and-4 with its season on the line. Williams fired a touchdown pass to rookie Jahdae Walker to force overtime. In the extra period, he connected with DJ Moore for a 46-yard touchdown that sent the stadium into delirium and handed Chicago a 22-16 victory.
The Bears fell 42-38 in a wild game at San Francisco, with a final pass to Walker falling incomplete near the goal line. Yet that same weekend the Ravens beat Green Bay, and Chicago clinched the NFC North. It was the franchise’s first division title since 2018.
A 19-16 loss to Detroit closed the regular season, but the Bears had already secured the No. 2 seed. The full results, from the opener to the finale, are preserved on Pro Football Reference.
The Chicago Bears’ 2025 season nearly ended in humiliation on January 10, 2026. Green Bay led 21-3 at halftime, and Williams had struggled badly. Then the fourth quarter arrived, and the Bears scored 25 points in a single quarter.
Swift opened the charge with a 5-yard touchdown run. Williams found Olamide Zaccheaus for an 8-yard score, and a two-point conversion to Loveland cut the gap to 27-24. With 1:43 remaining, Williams hit Moore for a 25-yard touchdown and a 31-27 lead. Green Bay drove deep one last time, but Jaquan Brisker broke up Jordan Love’s final pass in the end zone as time expired. Williams threw for 361 yards, and Chicago claimed its first playoff win since the 2010 season.
The Divisional Round brought the Rams to Soldier Field. Chicago trailed 17-10 with 18 seconds remaining and faced fourth-and-4 from the Los Angeles 14. Under heavy pressure, Williams drifted back and launched a desperate throw toward the back corner of the end zone. Cole Kmet came down with it, and the game was tied.
Overtime ended the dream. Safety Kam Curl intercepted Williams, and Matthew Stafford quickly moved the Rams into range. Harrison Mevis kicked a 42-yard field goal for a 20-17 win, as detailed in the team’s official game recap.
Few teams have ever turned a five-win roster into a division champion so quickly. Williams threw for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. That yardage broke Erik Kramer’s franchise record of 3,838, which had stood since 1995. Swift ran for 1,087 yards, while Loveland led the team with 58 catches for 713 yards.
The defense carried its share of the load. According to the Bears’ defensive backfield review, Chicago led the NFL with 33 takeaways and 23 interceptions. Kevin Byard led the league with seven interceptions and earned first-team All-Pro honors. Wright collected eight takeaways, and Montez Sweat finished with 10 sacks.
Thuney joined Byard on the first-team All-Pro list, and Darnell Wright earned second-team recognition. Byard, Thuney, Dalman and Nahshon Wright were all named to the Pro Bowl. The broader story of that campaign is chronicled on the 2025 Chicago Bears season page, while league context lives at NFL.com.
Johnson’s fingerprints were everywhere. His offense leaned on a balanced run game, his rookies grew into featured roles, and his team kept finding answers in the final minutes. The Bears also ended a seven-year division title drought and posted their first winning record since 2018.
The Chicago Bears’ 2025 season did not end with a trophy, but it ended a long era of drift. For the first time in years, the city had a coach it trusted and a quarterback it believed in. The overtime loss to the Rams stung, yet it marked the start of something rather than the end of it.
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