Can the Bears Still Win a Championship?

We are now getting into the business end of the NFL regular season. In a year where it seems like no team actually wants to win the Super Bowl, the Bears are still in the hunt for a divisional title, the best record in the NFC, and, ultimately, a return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 20 years. The fact that this team hasn’t even played a postseason game since 2020 tells you all you need to know about how open the league is this year.

The unprecedented parity of the NFL this season has certainly kept the best Super Bowl betting sites busy, with a new team pushed into the “favorites” tier almost every week. Every team is beating every other team at the moment – with the exception of a few with their eyes on top draft picks – and the Bears have stumbled almost as many times as they’ve soared this year.

But with just a few weeks left in the 2025 regular season, the Bears are still in striking distance of making a real push for another visit to the Super Bowl. Can Ben Johnson lead his players to Levi’s Stadium for a championship game in his first year in the job? Can the Bears get through the minefield that is the NFC North? Will long-suffering Bears fans finally get to see their team at the Super Bowl this season?

The Season So Far

Most football experts saw Chicago winning around eight games this season, with the ceiling being 11 – but only if absolutely everything went right for second-year QB Caleb Williams and a revamped O-line. After week two was in the books and the Bears had lost to two divisional rivals, most of the pundits were going lower than their original predictions.

But over the next ten games, the Bears lost just once, beating teams deemed to be at the same level – and then topped it off with a win against the Eagles, in Philadelphia. Suddenly, the Bears were being talked up again. The most recent loss to the Packers has dampened expectations again, but there is no doubt that Chicago is in with a shout of doing well this year.

Tough Division

Before the 2025 season began, many pointed to the NFC North as being one of the toughest divisions in the league – but most people concentrated on the perceived battle for supremacy between the Lions, Packers, and Vikings. The Bears were an afterthought, expected not to quite have what it takes to take a run at the title.

Fast-forward to the beginning of December, and it is the Vikings that have fallen away, with the Bears in the mix as the number of regular season games decrease. Ordinarily, a tough division, even if navigated successfully, affects a team’s chances of getting a bye for the Wild Card weekend. But in such an open season, an NFC North title could propel the Bears on the road to Super Bowl glory.

A Fit and Healthy Caleb

Football is a tough sport, and everyone expects players to get injured from time to time. But this season has seen a weekly report of top QBs being added to injury lists – and Caleb Williams being able to avoid joining that club this year might be one of the main reasons why the Bears are still in contention.

Everyone was hoping that Williams would progress and develop this year, after a hit-and-miss rookie season. Although it has not all been positive, being able to suit up and lead the team each week has been a bonus not afforded to many of Chicago’s rivals. If that fortune can hold for the next few weeks, at least, the Bears will find themselves in a good position to plan for the playoffs.

Soldier Field Strength

With nine regular season games on the road this year, winning at Soldier Field was always going to be important. That was another reason why the opening day loss to the Vikings hurt so much. But, since then, every other game in Chicago has been won, giving this team a better chance of making the postseason.

There have been some very important wins on the road as well, of course. Going to Minnesota and winning kept up some important momentum, while beating the Eagles became something of a statement of intent. Now, the Bears have three of their last four games at home, and Soldier Field needs to play its part – especially for the divisional games against the Packers and Lions.

Playoff Hopes

So, it all sounds very positive for the Bears. But is there a real chance of claiming that best overall record and the number one spot in the NFC? The loss to the Packers was a major blow, although a number of confrontations and controversies set up the return game nicely at Soldier Field in a couple of weeks.

Both the Packers and Lions have some tough games left, with the Vikings able to rain on a number of teams’ parades before the end of the regular season. It could be that the Rams or Seahawks end up with the number one spot anyway, but winning the division would do wonders for momentum, as well as gaining homefield advantage until the NFC Championship game.

Surprise Champs

Even with the best will in the world, the Bears should not really be challenging for a championship this year. Coming off a 5-12 season, with a brand new head coach, even just staying in contention in a tough division might have been the ceiling for most fans. But, with just a few games of the regular season to go, the Bears seem to have as good a chance as anyone to be playing in the Super Bowl in February.

That loss to the Packers has seen Chicago exit most of the Super Bowl conversation for now. But a few more wins over the next month would change that again entirely. In a year where it is difficult to see where the Super Bowl LX champion is going to come from, the Bears can still stake their own claim for success.

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