​The Chicago Bears burst onto the scene in Ben Johnson’s inaugural year as head coach, transforming from a last-place outfit to a conference contender with an 11-6 record that captured the NFC North and delivered the franchise’s first playoff victory in nearly twenty years. They climbed to the NFC’s upper echelon, securing the No. 2 seed behind the Seattle Seahawks, who would eventually win the Super Bowl. In the wild-card round, Chicago defeated their archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, but fell short in the divisional round, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. As the NFC’s elite, led by the Seahawks and Rams, look to distance themselves from the Bears, Hall of Fame linebacker and franchise legend Brian Urlacher laid out what Chicago must do to close the gap.
Urlacher stressed that defense will be the key area for improvement. Speaking to Roto Grinders, he said, “Defensively, they’re going to have to play better. They’ve got some dudes up front, and the thing that’s going to be different for them, I think they’re going to play with the lead this year a bunch. You get used to playing from behind, and your pass rushers can’t get after the quarterback. There are some things you can’t do.” The Bears, who spent much of the season playing from behind, set an NFL record with seven fourth-quarter comebacks, including dramatic wins against the Packers in both the regular season and the postseason, as well as defeats of the Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Commanders. Urlacher’s central point was that the next step for Chicago is to learn how to play with a lead.
“They won so many games last year that they shouldn’t have won,” Urlacher noted. “Every game—like the Packers games, where they beat the Packers twice late in the season— they led for only 15 seconds combined in both games when they hammered them. They fed off that momentum.” The veteran added that the Bears must focus on building early advantages and maintaining them, a shift he believes will elevate the team across the board. “You’ve got to learn how to play with the lead. You’ve got to learn how to get some leads earlier in those games, which I think they’re going to do. I think they’ll be better all the way around, in my opinion.”
There are skeptics who worry about regression for Chicago in 2026, given last season’s remarkable run, an arduous schedule, and the competitiveness of their division. Urlacher, however, is bullish. He expects growth from Caleb Williams at quarterback, improvement from the defense, and a general uplift in the team’s performance as good teams tend to do year after year. His confidence hinges on two constants: continued progress and health. “I hope I’m right. I just don’t see them taking a step back,” Urlacher said. “I see Caleb getting better. I see the defense getting better. Good teams get better every single year. I think they’ll be doing that, staying healthy is the number one deal with everybody.”
The Bears would benefit from capitalizing on their offensive talent and the depth they’ve assembled, pairing it with a more formidable pass rush and tighter defensive play in front of a lead-heavy game plan. Urlacher’s assessment suggests Chicago’s path to contending with the NFC’s top seeds hinges on flipping the script from trailing to leading and leveraging early advantages to establish rhythm and momentum. If the Bears can translate those late-season success formulas into a consistent start and a stronger defense, they could remain solid contenders in a conference that’s loaded with challengers.
As Chicago looks to close the gap on Seattle and Los Angeles, Urlacher’s message is clear: build a lead, protect it, and play with the edge that comes with confidence. The blueprint he outlines centers on better defense, early and sustainable leads, and continued improvement from their young core. If the Bears can implement these changes, the trajectory points upward, and the franchise could maintain its status among the NFC’s elite for years to come.