The Chicago Bears werenât supposed to look like this⦠Not this soon, not this convincingly, and certainly not in a division theyâve spent years trying to climb out of.
But halfway through the season, theyâre sitting atop the NFC North with a second-year quarterback, a reshaped roster, and a head coach whose impact is becoming impossible to deny.
And on Sunday, an NFL legend finally said the quiet part about Caleb Williams and the Bears out loud.
What JJ Watt posted after Chicagoâs win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was more just praise, it was confirmation. Confirmation that the Bearsâ transformation under Ben Johnson isnât hype or luck, itâs real and itâs scaring the rest of the NFC North to death.
Truth Be Told
GettyChicago Bears WR DJ Moore caught two TD passes against the Steelers
Watt has never been one to manufacture compliments, and he didnât start now.
âI thought he played really well today,â Watt said, referring to Caleb Williamsâ 3 touchdowns, zero interceptions performance. âOL did a great job protecting him today too, outside of the one strip sack TD.â
Then came the line that hit the league-wide nerve: âBen Johnson is the real deal.â
Watt didnât stop there. He praised Johnsonâs scheme for minimizing risk while exploiting defensive weaknesses and pointed to his leadership in meetings.
Most Bears fans hoped for progress in Year 1 under Johnson. Few expected a team this composed, this adaptable, and this confident in tight moments.
For the first time in a long time, the Chicago Bears don’t look like a team hoping things go right. They look like a team expecting to win.
Chicago finally hired the right guy, and the rest of the division is going to have to deal with that reality for a long, long time.
But the scariest part of it all is that this Bears team is miles away from being fully healthy.
The Bears have been patching together linebacker rotations mid-game. Theyâve been without Jaylon Johnson, one of the leagueâs best corners, and Kyler Gordon, a stud slot defender. Theyâve dealt with injuries up front and on the perimeter.
And theyâre still winning.
If this is what Chicago looks like undermanned, what happens when the roster stabilizes? The sky is the legit for the Chicago Bears.
Watt Just Gave Voice to What the NFC North Already Knows
GettyChicago Bears TE Colston Loveland catches a TD against the Steelers
The truth is Chicago hired the right guy, and the rest of the division is going to have to deal with that reality for a long time.
Ben Johnson has flipped the Chicago Bearsâ culture overnight, finally unlocked Caleb Williams, and accelerated the Bears rebuild timeline.Â
And when someone like JJ Watt sees it, calls it out, and stamps it with credibility, thatâs when you know itâs real.
Chicago didnât just find a head coach. They found the one thing the rest of the NFC North hoped they wouldnât: a leader who knows exactly how to build a winner, and is already ahead of schedule.
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