Windy City Gridiron
Although it might be hard to believe, the 2025 NFL regular season is one game from being over. For both conferences, there have been plenty of close battles for playoff seeding. In the NFC, multiple teams came into Week 17 with a shot at the NFC’s top seed, including both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. Both teams have exceeded preseason expectations, and, believe it or not, both rosters share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. That’s what made Sunday night’s game such an intriguing matchup. With both teams having clinched playoff spots in Week 16, and the Bears locking up the NFC North the night before, this game was much more about seeding and feeling each other out as potential postseason opponents. Despite the loss, it’s hard to come away feeling anything but excitement for what’s ahead. We’ll talk about all of that and more in our Week 17 installment of 10 Bears Takes.
1. The Chicago Bears Are The NFC North Champions For The First Time Since 2018. What Looked Impossible In January Became A Reality Shortly After Christmas.
It feels like an eternity ago that Ryan Poles sat up there awkwardly for his opening press conference. I couldn’t recall 90% of what he said during his introduction, but I’ll never forget his infamous quote: “We’re going to take the North and never give it back.”
To say that the first three years of his tenure as the general manager in Chicago were smooth wouldn’t be truthful. In fact, I would say it was downright nasty, outside of some great fortune landing the No. 1 pick in consecutive seasons. After his second season, the quote became a point of mockery for many, and to be fair, it looked like they were going nowhere fast. There’s nothing wrong with a team committing to a rebuild; it’s another to show absolutely zero progress after three seasons. During the team’s season-ending press conference in January, team president Kevin Warren did the majority of the speaking. Many, including myself, wondered if Poles should be afforded a second chance. In the end, ownership allowed him to hire a second head coach, and the rest is history.
It’s been a full seven years since this organization has given fans anything to be proud of. Since 2018’s promising 12-4 campaign, we’ve seen three head coaches and a 37-63 (.336) record from 2019 to 2024. To put this into more perspective: In former head coach Matt Eberflus’ three seasons with the team, they won a grand total of 15 games. Assuming Ben Johnson can keep this up in Year 2, they could easily match (or surpass) that 15-win total next September.
To say it’s been a long time coming would be an understatement. Despite entering the season as the least likely team to win the NFC North, they overcame an 0-2 start and went on an 11-2 run heading into Sunday night. It would have been easy to give up and throw in the...
