Now that the 2024 NFL season is officially over, with the Philadelphia Eagles taking home the Lombardi Trophy, CBS released an article handing out final grades to all the NFL teams. As expected, the final grade was not kind to the Chicago Bears.
Chicago Bears: D
While Chicago's 5-12 record was bad, it did lead to the firing of Matt Eberflus and the hiring of former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson will now try to mimic the success he had in Detroit with Jared Goff with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in Chicago.
Speaking of Williams, he was able to get the experience of playing in every regular season game during his rookie season. Williams had some good performances, but he was sacked a league-high 68 times, a major issue that cannot happen again in 2025.
At first glance, a 'D' is a pretty harsh assessment of the team's performance. After all, they were starting a rookie quarterback who broke every Bears rookie passing record and an NFL one for most attempts without an interception. However, that's really where the positives stop. As mentioned in the article, Williams getting sacked 68 times was an embarrassment for the franchise, and if you couple that with a ten-game losing streak and a mid-season coach firing for the first time in franchise history, it's a miracle they passed.
The 2025 Chicago Bears seem to have nowhere to go but up. New Head Coach Ben Johnson and his recently completed coaching staff will have their work cut out for them.
