The Chicago Bears are the unquestioned hot-take team of the summer, pointed to as Super Bowl darlings or the certain victim of inevitable regression. It seems that there is little in between, as Chicago fans have grown increasingly tired of the discourse. Two subjects, in particular, have been a thorn in the side of a fanbase pushed into the spotlight based on being a historic franchise with a roster finally capable of Super Bowl contention. The first frustration has been the never-ending talk around the completion percentage of Caleb Williams and what this means for the quarterback moving forward.
Secondly, if you're looking for a reason to doubt the Bears, the strength-of-schedule rankings have been a continual issue pointed to. This was the case yet again on FS1's First Things First and should frustrate fans who understand the stat is one of the more overrated metrics used when gauging the difficult road ahead.
Typically, each NFL season ends with 5-6 new playoff teams completing a field that is ever changing and points to a level of parity that helps the league maintain its grip on undeniable popularity. Where this matters in the discussion is understanding that the entire premise of ranking how difficult a schedule might be is built on the records of the year before.
Putting Chicago in the crosshairs based on what teams accomplished a year ago ignores league trends and simply is an overrated way to look at how truly difficult scheduling is. What matters more are rest days, road games, miles traveled, and whether or not your roster is going to be lucky enough to survive untimely injuries.
Bears Doubters Continue to Point to Overrated Rankign to Fuel 2026 Doubt
It is important to note here that this isn't meant to deny that the Bears have a difficult road ahead in what is always a competitive NFC North. Chicago is a defending division champ and a team that has consistently grabbed headlines, demanding the Bears understand they are going to get each team's best shot. However, this is the case for nearly every team that is expected to be contending for the top of their respective division.
The Bears have the talent to win against any potential matchup and the coaching staff in place to erase any doubt that regression should be a real conversation. To put it simply, Chicago's schedule isn't going to be the reason the upcoming season doesn't match expectations.
As long as the Bears remain healthy, there is simply too much upside to doubt the obvious ceiling. A ceiling that isn't going to be changed by a ranking that only considers what happened a season ago and the likely fact that lesser teams aren't going to be able to achieve the same level of success that Chicago will inevitably find in the year ahead.
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