The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their best season since 2018. The current team, led by head coach Ben Johnson, clearly has no plans on settling for matching their efforts from that campaign.
It is a stark change from what the Bears were planning at this time last season.
Then, just like many of the seasons since that last postseason appearance, the Bears faced plenty of uncertainty about their future. They still do. Every team does. This time around, though, the Bears are trending up, and it is easy to see.
Travis Homer Offers Telling Take on Bears’ Bounceback Season Under Ben Johnson
Travis Homer: Ben Johnson Shifting Bears’ Culture
Running back Travis Homer is in his third season with the Bears, arriving as a free agent in Year 2 under former head coach Matt Eberflus, a first-year leader who the Bears paired with a second-year 1st-round QB in Justin Fields. The Bears took a step forward that season, going 7-10, a two-game improvement.
That season, which gave way to significant organizational tumult, was nothing like this. This is rivaled only by that 2018 season, which shares several parallels with this group.
Homer says Johnson has driven that change, particularly from the dire nature of last season.
“It’s definitely a, I would say, a complete 180 [degree turn],” Homer told Clocker Sports on Friday. “Just the feeling in here. You could feel people’s spirits lighten up a lot more than in previous years. Of course, that’s always gonna happen when you’re winning. But, just the whole culture completely changed. You can feel it in the team meeting room, you can feel it in the weight room, you can feel it in the cafeteria.”
The Bears are the No. 1 team in the NFC North entering Week 17. And while they currently hold the same slot in the conference, the Bears also still have a chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC, though they would need some help.
Their focus has consistently been on the next opponent, even amid brief moments in which they acknowledge the possibilities that lie ahead.
Again, Homer pointed to Johnson for that grounded mentality.
“It’s good to have Coach Ben, just doubling down in the team meetings,” Homer told Clocker Sports. ‘Yeah, we don’t want to ride the wave too much.’ You’re always going to feel that excitement, but he does a really good job at just keeping us poised.”
The Bears will need to remain poised as they face another contender for the NFC’s top spot, the San Francisco 49ers, on the road in Week 17
Homer is familiar with the 49ers.
He spent the first four years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, who face the 49ers twice a year, with half of those matchups coming on the road in the same locale the Bears are in this weekend, and where they hope to be Super Bowl week: in Santa Clara.
Homer, who is 2-1 in road games that he played against the 49ers, expects a live environment against what Johnson has described as a talented, well-coached bunch.
The Bears may need to substitute silencing the crowd for having raucous support from the fans.
However, they are also bringing a talented, well-coached team into the contest, with Johnson leading the charge for a group of players who have bought into his messaging and appreciate his authenticity.
Bears Looking to Avoid Repeating History
That 2018 Bears season saw a first-year head coach in Matt Nagy paired with a former first-round pick at quarterback who was in his second season, Mitchell Trubisky. Nagy was Trubisky’s second head coach and was hired by a holdover general manager, Ryan Pace.
Johnson’s first season with the Bears has him paired with a second-year former first-rounder in Caleb Williams and a holdover front office, i.e., GM Ryan Poles.
Trubisky and Williams also have similar stats as second-year passers.
The former Bears QB was a more efficient passer. He also had more production on the ground than his eventual successor. However, Williams has more yards and fewer interceptions than his predecessor.
What comes next is key for Johnson, Williams, and the Bears. Moreover, it is independent of the outcome of their postseason trip. Last time, they lost in the Wild Card Round.
Instead, it is how they respond to that success or shortfall.
The Bears have not really come from out of nowhere this season. They just reversed their luck in one-score games. The Bears went 3-7 in games decided by 8 or fewer points last season. They are 7-2 in such contests so far in 2025.
They will face a much more difficult schedule next season. The 2019 Bears went 8-8 and missed the postseason.
The Bears backed into the playoffs at 8-8 in 2020, the last time they were in.
Johnson was a far more proven play-caller than Nagy. Williams was the No. 1 overall pick, not third like Trubisky. Still, what happened after 2018 all led to Johnson’s arrival this season. If the Bears want to prove their culture has really changed, a win in the postseason would go a long way. Sustaining this level of success would go even further.