With yet another exhilarating victory, the Bears 7-3 start under rookie head coach Ben Johnson keeps evoking memories of previous glorious seasons in the post-Ditka era. To wit:  The uncanny, fantastic finishes in victories over the Raiders, Commanders, Bengals , Giants and Vikings has been reminiscent of the miraculous 2001 season, highlighted by Mike Brown’s back-to-back game-ending pick-6s.  The feel-good energy and rejuvenation under Johnson and an opportunistic defens

Seven players who made the biggest impact in the Bears' 19-17 victory over the Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium: 1. Devin Duvernay The veteran kick returner had not made a big impact this season outside of a 49-yard kick return against the Ravens in Week 8, but came up with a clutch return that set the stage for another dramatic Bears comeback. His 56-yard kickoff return to the Vikings 40 with 42 seconds to play — following J.J. McCarthy's 16-yard touchdown pass that ga

The Bears' 2025 rookie class got off to a slow start, but has shown signs of life in recent games, with room for more growth in the final eight games of the season: Tight end Colston Loveland (first round, No. 10 overall) had 11 receptions for 116 yards and no touchdowns in his first six games. But he six receptions for 138 yards and a game-winning 58-yard touchdown against the Bengals, and four receptions for 55 yards against the Giants last week. Wide receiver Luther Burde

The juiciest Ben Johnson matchup with an NFC North rival coach won’t happen until Dec. 7, when the Bears’ head coach faces the guy he loved to beat as the Lions’ offensive coordinator — Packers coach Matt LaFleur. But until then, Johnson vs. Brian Flores will do.  Johnson actually had even better success against Flores’ Vikings defense as the Lions’ offensive coordinator than he did against LaFleur. The Lions were 4-0 in their matchups in 2023 and 2024, with Johnson’s offense

Three plays after Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart needed a little time to get up and walk off the field after fumbling and losing possession with a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter Sunday, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams came up limping noticeably after being sacked by Abdul Carter — a play that was nullified by a penalty.  As it turned out, Dart played just two more snaps before leaving the game with a concussion. Williams shook off the injury and passed for 111 yards

Seven players (actually six players and one coach) who made the biggest impact in the Bears' 24-20 victory over the Giants on Sunday at Soldier Field: 1. Caleb Williams It remains to be seen if Williams has the "it" factor, but he showed more signs Sunday: 1) Made the most of a disappointing day on offense against a vulnerable defense with two late touchdown drives — throwing for one and rushing for the other; 2) didn't let several drops by his receivers throw him off his gam

You are what your record says you are, but the Bears know they can’t be deceived by the 2-7 Giants on Sunday.  The Giants have lost their last three games, but against the Broncos (8-2), Eagles (6-2) and 49ers (6-3) — three teams with a combined record of 20-7. In fact, the Giants have more victories over winning teams this season — the Chargers (6-3) and Eagles (6-2) — than the Bears, who have zero.  “This is a good team coming in here,” coach Ben Johnson said. “I know what

This 2019 feature included a top-10 list of Bears players who were not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since then, Jim Covert (2020), Devin Hester (2024) and Steve McMichael (2025) have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Bears fans likely will not even acknowledge Brian Daboll on the sidelines at Soldier Field as head coach of the Giants on Sunday. But let the record show, once upon a time they wanted him to be on the other sideline as much as they wanted Ben Johnson last January. Daboll was the coach many Bears fans had to have after Matt Nagy was fired following a 6-11 season in 2021. His mentorship and development of Josh Allen as the Bills' offensive coordinator was even more dramatic tha

Some guys have “it.” And some guys don’t.  Jay Cutler had tremendous talent but couldn’t buy a break. Even when he was in the right place, it seemed like the wrong time. In 2011, Cutler was leading the Bears (7-3) to their fifth straight victory that would stamp them as a legitimate threat to the 10-0 Packers, when fate intervened. With the Bears leading the Chargers 31-20 in the fourth quarter and about to put the hammer down at the Chargers’ 30-yard line, Cutler’s short pas

Seven players who made the biggest impact in the Bears' 47-42 victory over the Bengals on Sunday at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati: 1. Kyle Monangai Forget all the gobbledygook at the end, the seventh-round rookie from Rutgers was the dominant force in the game with 26 carries for 176 yards (6. 8 avg.) in his first NFL start. Monangai had room to run — due credit to Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson and the Bears' offensive line. But on several occasions Monangai himself

Gale Sayers played just 68 games with the Bears — tied for 231st on the Bears' all-time list Among those who have played more are Markus Paul (70), Bruce Herron (71), Zack Bowman (73) and Craig Steltz (77). But his impact on the Bears and the NFL was indelible — he scored 18 touchdowns of 50 or more yards in his first three seasons with the Bears. His knee injury against the 49ers in 1968 shortened his career — but even as a shell of his former self, Sayers still led the NFL

When Zach LaVine returned to the United Center on Wednesday night with the Sacramento Kings against the Bulls, his performance was all too typical. He led his team with 30 points, shot 12-of-19 from the field (63.2%) and had a season-high game score of 24.1. Yet his on-court scoring differential was minus-23 points and the Kings lost 126-113 — never closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter. It was just one game, but still a snapshot of LaVine's confounding NBA career — no

For a player who was on the street after being traded by the Eagles in March and cut by the Texans and Ravens already this season, defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson is an intriguing acquisition by the Bears. Not only can he provide needed help on the field — he led the Super Bowl champion Eagles with six interceptions last season — but Gardner-Johnson is the edgy kind of player the Bears' locker room needs. There's a fine line, of course, between the volatile personality of

Bears coach Ben Johnson learns a little bit more about the roster he inherited every day. He’s about to learn a lot more.  After the Bears had penalty issues yet again in a 30-16 loss to the Ravens on Sunday — 11 penalties for 79 yards, including two more false starts — Johnson all but threw his hands up and put the onus on his players and presumably team leaders to solve the problem.  “We’re here as coaches — we’re gonna help support, we’re going to challenge these guys and

The Bears have lost to some pretty modest NFL quarterbacks over the years, but in winning with the Ravens on Sunday, Huntley joined Foley as quarterbacks with single-digit NFL victories to beat the Bears twice. Foley, a seventh-round draft pick by the Jets in 1994, deserves special mention. He was 2-7 in nine NFL starts, and both victories came against the Bears — in 1997 with the Jets (with veteran Neil O'Donnell finishing) and in 1999 with the Seahawks. He joins the Chiefs'

Seven players who made the biggest difference in the Bears' 30-16 loss to the Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium: 1. Tyler Huntley With all the tumult over Lamar Jackson's status, starting the more mobile Huntley is place of Cooper Rush as Jackson's replacement was an underrated winning move by Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Huntley's accuracy was mildly unexpected (17 of 22, 186 yards, a 116.9 passer rating), but the bigger surprise was his ability to avoid the big mistake a

When reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose suffered a devastating knee injury in the first round of the playoffs in 2012, I wrote a column in the Sun-Times imploring him to avoid the temptation to rush back. "If Rose is ever ahead of schedule, here's some layman's advice for his doctors: Don't tell him," I wrote. "Don't give Rose anything that's going to encourage him to come back sooner than he should." It seemed like sound advice at the time, but it was completely

The Bears are down to three players from the Chicago area — tight end Cole Kmet (St. Viator), linebacker T.J. Edwards (Lakes) and offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie (Hinsdale Central). Two years ago they had six — Kmet, Edwards, Jack Sanborn (Lake Zurich), Robert Tonyan (McHenry), Dan Feeney (Sandburg) and Doug Kramer (Hinsdale Central). This week's Bears scrapbook takes a look back at the Bears best hometown players — one of many NFL lists headed by the great Dick Butkus:

The Bears at 4-2 with a four-game winning streak and the 10th-ranked scoring offense in the NFL are 6 1/2-point underdogs to the Ravens, who are 1-5 with four straight losses and the 32nd- (and last) ranked defense in the NFL, on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Oddsmakers obviously are presuming that Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will return after missing two-plus games with a hamstring injury. Jackson, a two-time league MVP and at 28 arguably the most dynamic run