Ben Johnson’s Ground Machine Lifts the 7-2 Bears to NFC North’s Top

Committed five turnovers on Sunday night against Tampa Bay and somehow still walked off Soldier Field at 7-2: when sophomore tight end Colston Loveland split the seam for a 38-yard gain in the final minute to set up Cairo Santos’ buzzer-beating 38-yard field goal, Chicago proved it can win even when its own execution goes sideways. Entering their Week 10 bye alone in first place in football’s deepest division, Ben Johnson’s Bears have arrived ahead of schedule.

Oddsmakers now price Chicago as the +135 favorite to win the NFC North—ahead of 6-2 Detroit (+210), 6-2 Minnesota (+400), and 6-3 Green Bay (+525)—and among the league’s elite contenders at +800 to capture Super Bowl LXI in February 2027. Behind that dramatic midseason leap sits an offensive identity built around Caleb Williams, violent interior offensive line blocking, league-leading time of possession, third-down mastery, and explosive play-action shot plays that stress every level of opposing secondaries.

Veteran Trench Splashes Turn Ben Johnson’s Blueprint Into Reality

Hiring Ben Johnson to unlock Caleb Williams—backed up on the QB chart by Tyson Bagent while veteran third-string backup Case Keenum remains sidelined—came with a clear mandate from the front office: rebuild the interior of both lines so Chicago could bully the NFC North rather than survive on off-script backyard heroics. Overhauling the offensive interior with left guard Joe Thuney, center Garrett Bradbury, and right guard Jonah Jackson next to right tackle Darnell Wright transformed Chicago’s physical floor from opening kickoff.

That same trench-first philosophy reshaped the defense, where interior disruptors Jeffery Simmons and Grady Jarrett joined edge rusher Montez Sweat, linebackers T.J. Edwards and Devin Bush, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Even after left tackle Braxton Jones landed on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury—forcing Theo Benedet into the starting blindside spot—Chicago’s infrastructure held firm, propelling the Bears to 7-2 and the seventh-highest scoring clip in the league at 26.8 points per game (241 total points, third in the NFL).

Rushing Volume, Third-Down Mastery, and 26 Sacks Drive the Surge

On tape, Johnson’s offense suffocates opponents by dictating tempo and personnel. Chicago leads the entire NFL in rushing attempts (303) and time of possession (18,641 seconds, first in the league), ranking third in rushing offense at 142.0 yards per game and tied for first in rushing touchdowns with 17. D'Andre Swift—who erupted for seven touchdowns across a four-game stretch prior to Tampa Bay’s league-best run front bottling him up Sunday—sets up play-action launches that have produced 398.7 total yards per game (second in the NFL), a 67.6 percent completion rate (fourth), and 35 completions of 20-plus yards (second).

Situationally, Chicago’s ability to stay on the field has been elite: the Bears lead the NFL with 58 third-down conversions (45.31 percent, fourth) and convert 61.11 percent on fourth down (11-of-18, tenth), with Loveland (54-plus yards in five of his past six games), Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Kalif Raymond punishing linebackers over the middle. Defensively, Chicago allows just 20.4 points per game (ninth) and 326.7 total yards per game (ninth), racking up 26 sacks (tied for fourth), 48 tackles for loss (11th), 13 takeaways (tied for fifth), and a league-best two blocked kicks.

Sloppy Giveaways, Red-Zone Stalls, and Explosives Allowed on Defense

Week 9’s near-disaster against the Buccaneers highlighted the exact self-inflicted wounds that could derail Chicago in January 2027 if left uncorrected. Despite moving the ball at will between the 20s, the Bears have committed 17 giveaways (30th in the NFL)—nine interceptions thrown (tied for 25th, 2.90 percent interception rate) and eight fumbles lost (31st, including an NFL-worst four passing fumbles lost)—saddling a 7-2 leader with a -4 turnover differential (tied for 25th). Worse, Chicago ranks dead last in the NFL in red-zone scoring percentage at 73.68 percent (32nd, with a 55.26 percent touchdown rate, 20th) and has drawn 72 penalties for 570 yards (27th).

Defensively, when Sweat, Simmons, and Jarrett do not get home, opposing quarterbacks have punished Chicago’s secondary—where safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Dallis Flowers sit on injured reserve, cornerback Malik Muhammad II is out with a toe injury, and starter Tyrique Stevenson Sr. is questionable alongside Kyler Gordon, Cam Lewis, and rookie safety Dillon Thieneman—for an NFL-worst 8.2 yards per pass attempt (32nd). On offense, Burden exited late in the fourth quarter Sunday and carries a questionable tag into the bye, while rookie running back Kyle Monangai (out five straight games with a toe injury) and injured-reserve defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo have tested rotational depth.

Why Holding Firm at the Deadline Signaled Confidence in Internal Depth

Rather than chasing headline rentals before last week’s 2026 NFL trade deadline, Chicago’s brass elected to stand pat after already investing aggressively in veteran linemen during the offseason. With Monangai returning to practice ahead of a potential Week 11 activation on November 22 to share carries alongside Swift and Salvon Ahmed, management saw no reason to part with premium draft picks for a rental runner.

Standing pat also reflected belief that Chicago’s biggest second-half upgrades are operational rather than personnel-driven. Cleaning up Williams’ pocket ball security, tightening red-zone play sequencing inside the 15-yard line, and getting Burden and Stevenson two full weeks to recover over the Week 10 bye offer more immediate win-probability equity than plugging a midseason newcomer into Johnson’s intricate motion system.

Navigating an Historic NFC North Dogfight Down the Stretch

Resting at 7-2 during the Week 10 bye affords no comfort when every single rival in the NFC North sits at least three games over .500—with Detroit and Minnesota at 6-2 and Green Bay at 6-3. Surviving divisional rematches in November and December will determine whether Chicago secures home-field advantage at Soldier Field in January 2027 or gets pushed onto the wild-card road.

Inside Halas Hall, the locker-room standard has unmistakably shifted from moral victories to championship accountability. With future April 2027 draft picks preserved to eventually target a long-term left tackle and boundary cornerback depth, Chicago owns both the offensive firepower and defensive pass rush to contend right now—provided its -4 turnover margin stops tempting fate.