You certainly don’t need me to tell you that in the Windy City, football fans are living a joyous life right now. It’s mid-November and in an incredible twist of fate, the Green Bay Packers (Yuck!), Detroit Lions (Boo!), and Minnesota Vikings (I hate that damn Viking horn) are looking up at the Chicago Bears at the top of the NFC North standings.
The fact that this is the case after last season, when the Packers, Lions and Vikings boasted a combined record of 40-11 in the regular season, is not only a testament to the work done by new head coach Ben Johnson or the strides made by second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, but the contributions of this entire roster which has been carefully constructed over the last few years by general manager Ryan Poles.
As we watch this Bears season unfold, I keep having to fight off familiar feelings. It’s almost like a sports version of deja vu, where your body recognizes a sensation or a series of events as if they’ve happened before. For me, a lifelong Bears fan, this is happening on a weekly basis.
But here’s the really strange thing… I can’t figure out where this feeling is actually coming from.
Naturally, as any sane person is prone to do, I’ve spent weeks obsessing over these sensations, trying to nail down when I’ve felt them before. And what I’ve come to realize is that this version of the Chicago Bears — the 2025 version — is giving me flashbacks of four different Bears teams that have existed this century.
If you’d be so kind to join me as I take this trip down memory lane and attempt to identify which of these past Bears teams is most likely to resemble this Bears team, well, I would absolutely love the company!
2001 Chicago Bears
Record after 10 games: 8-2
Biggest Similarity: Everyone seems eager to talk about how many “fluky” wins the Bears have this year, but might I remind you that the 2001 Chicago Bears were the OG’s of Rabbit Out of a Hat wins, securing W’s in back-to-back weeks on Mike Brown interception returns for a touchdown in overtime. Honestly, that makes Colston Loveland’s miraculous last-minute touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals or Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal seem pretty ordinary in comparison.
End of Season record/result: 13-3, loss in NFC Divisional Round
2010 Chicago Bears
Record after 10 games: 7-3
Biggest Similarity: Week after week during the 2010 NFL season, I logged into my then-Twitter account after just about every Bears win, and tweeted something along these lines… “The Bears are the worst INSERT RECORD team in NFL history.” I half meant it, and half was trying to reverse jinx the hell out of Chicago all the way to the Super Bowl. I not only stand by the sentiment, but I stand by the strategy as well, because the Bears came within one possession — and one Jay Cutler injury — from potentially playing in Super Bowl XLV.
And you know what, since it worked as well as it did last time — and because the 2025 Bears currently have a negative point differential despite their 7-3 record — I’ll go ahead and run this strategy back. The 2025 Bears are the worst 7-3 team since, well, the 2010 Chicago Bears.
End of Season record/result: 11-5, loss in NFC Championship Game
2013 Chicago Bears
Record after 10 games: 6-4
Biggest Similarity: Not only were the 2013 Bears working in a new head coach (Marc Trestman) just as the 2025 Bears are with Ben Johnson, but this was the season when Chicago’s defense fell off a cliff. After a decade of reliable defenses in the Windy City, the Monsters of the Midway had their masks removed and now looked more like a helpless Scooby Doo villain.
By season’s end, Chicago was allowing 29.9 points per game, 30th in the league. On the other side of the ball, it was a much rosier outlook, as the Bears ranked 2nd in the NFL in scoring at 27.8 points per game. That’s not too dissimilar to where Chicago is right now — 8th in points scored, 26th in points allowed.
End of Season record/result: 8-8, missed Playoffs
2018 Chicago Bears
Record after 10 games: 7-3
Biggest Similarity: Where do we start?
1st year head coach? CHECK!
2nd year quarterback making a leap? CHECK!
Defense that is forcing all kinds of turnovers? CHECK!
Impeccable vibes? You damn right! You remember Club Dub, right? Well, it might not have a catchy name, but the Bears locker room after a win is the place to be this year.
End of Season record/result: 12-4, loss in Wild Card Round
One Potential Difference: In case you don’t remember, or if you’ve done everything you can to erase these memories from your brain, the knock on the 2018 Bears was their inability to win close games. In what turned out to be their only 5 losses of the year, Chicago was outscored by just 15 points. I’ll spare you all of the grisly details. But here’s my hope:
I hope that the 2018 ends up being the closest comparison, just because that was such a lovable bunch that had those good vibes from August and carried it throughout the season, even when they were hit with a few unspeakably disappointing losses. If this year’s team can keep carrying these vibes while also finding a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat like the 01 team did, then this could truly end up being a season to remember.
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