The Chicago Bears are heading into the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 2 seed. But instead of confidence, the Bears arrive in January dragging a two game losing streak and a fair share of fresh concerns.
Their 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions in the regular season finale was a snapshot of everything that has gone wrong lately: a defense that can’t get off the field, an offense that takes three quarters to wake up, and a complete lack of pass rush that puts constant stress on the secondary.
Chicago still has the talent to make noise in the postseason, but these three issues are impossible to ignore heading into a Wild Card matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
1. A pass defense that’s being picked apart
GettyBears DT Grady Jarrett
For the second straight week, the Chicago Bears’ pass defense looked flat out broken. Against Detroit, Jared Goff threw for 331 yards and consistently found open receivers without much resistance.
According to PFF, star cornerback Jaylon Johnson allowed six catches on seven targets for 81 yards. Nahshon Wright gave up four catches for 68 yards. And C.J. Gardner-Johnson, before leaving with a concussion, surrendered six receptions for 93 yards.
This followed what was an even uglier performance the week before against San Francisco where Chicago allowed 496 total yards and five touchdowns on five red zone trips.
Without takeaways, Chicago’s pass defense has become a liability, one playoff opponents will aggressively attack.
2. A slow starting offense
Even with defensive issues, the Chicago Bears could survive if the offense consistently set the tone early… That hasn’t happened. Against Detroit, Ben Johnson’s offense sleepwalked through the first three quarters, managing zero points heading into the fourth.
The thing is, the Bears have repeatedly relied on late comebacks and Caleb Williams’ fourth quarter heroics to stay afloat… A strategy that just isn’t reliable or sustainable whatsoever. Falling behind early against Green Bay would put immense pressure on both sides of the ball. And given recent defensive performances, that’s a dangerous place to live.
3. No pass rush
GettyBears Head Coach Ben Johnson
Everything circles back to this… The Bears cannot consistently pressure the quarterback.
Even against Jared Goff (one of the league’s least mobile quarterbacks), Chicago managed very little pressure. The same issue appeared against San Francisco, where Brock Purdy operated comfortably from clean pockets.
The numbers tell the story. Chicago ranks dead last in the NFL in pass rush win rate at just 29%.
Sure the Bears didn’t stumble into the playoffs by accident. They earned a two seed and showed resilience all season. But the final two weeks stripped away the comfort that came with that record.
A leaky pass defense. An offense that waits too long to engage. A pass rush that doesn’t exist when it’s needed most. These are structural problems playoff teams will exploit, and ones Ben Johnson and his staff need to fix prior to Saturday.
The Chicago Bears will have a chance to reset against Green Bay at Soldier Field. But if the Bears bring the same version of themselves that closed the regular season, their postseason run could be over faster than anyone in Chicago wants to admit.
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