The Chicago Bears are hitting a fever pitch at the moment. A year and a half of Ben Johnson has produced a lot of quality football, but in consecutive weeks the Bears have confidently disposed of the two teams playing in the 2025 Super Bowl.
The addition of Jeffery Simmons, improvement of Caleb Williams, and a litany of talent on both sides of the ball have finally earned the Bears some serious respect across the league. As noted in Sam’s article earlier this week, the Bears are being ranked by various
outlets anywhere from #7 to #2. They are being viewed as a legitimate title threat.
Still, the NFL’s product is based in parity and chaos. There are still a ton of teams that can win the Super Bowl this season. However, that doesn’t mean that they are all scary to an Bears fanbase growing in confidence. Halloween has come and gone, but scary season is still upon us. Which leads me to my question.
Which NFL teams still scare you?
I think I can sort these teams into two different categories. Rationally scary and irrationally scary.
Rationally Scary Teams
This is a short list. These are the teams that I think are as good or better than the Bears right now and could beat them in a 1-on-1 matchup.
- San Francisco 49ers: The Niners are still the best team in football in my eyes. Shanahan remains the gold standard for head coaching, and he has morphed Brock Purdy into the perfect on-field extension of him. They are talented, fast, smart, and can beat you in a ton of ways. They are the best in the league.
- Buffalo Bills: The Bills are elite and will remain elite so long as they have the best QB in the league, Josh Allen, at the helm. Add in talents like Deone Walker and Gregory Rousseau making waves on defense, and the Bills are legit.
- Jacksonville Jaguars: I’m not overlooking you, Coach Cohen! The Jags have the 4th-best scoring offense and 2nd-best scoring defense in the league. They’re a fantastic team top to bottom that have beaten good teams like the Bengals, Patriots, and Ravens (still good even without Lamar).
Irrationaly Scary Teams
- Detroit Lions: I think the Lions have a bottom 10 defense in the league. Outside of some talents like Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeil, and Brian Branch the defense is going to cost the Lions a lot of games. However, the Bears are 0-2 against the Lions since Ben Johnson has taken over, and that offense is still among the league’s best. While I think the Bears are the better team, the Lions still feel like the boogeyman.
- Green Bay Packers: Again, the Bears (with QB1) are the better team than the Packers. They are more complete in the trenches, and have a better QB/Coach pairing. Still, watching Jordan Love just heave bombs 40 yards downfield and assume that his WRs would beat our secondary terrifies me. A few broken coverages can change the entire shape of a season; just ask Chris Conte.
- Minnesota Vikings: Again…I think the Bears are far and away the more complete team. The Vikings are the inverse of the Lions. Super talented on defense and just wildly inconsistent on offense. Similarly, they have some talents on offense, namely Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and their two tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neil. But the well below average QB play from Kyler Murray has put their ceiling in doubt. As long as Brian Flores is coaching that defense, and KOC is eeking out enough offense, I will have my fears in playing the Vikings.
Let’s be clear. The Bears look like they can win it all this season. Even the teams listed above are beatable if the Bears play the way we know they are capable. Stringing together wins against teams like these is another thing. Scary? Maybe a little. But we have Caleb Williams, Jeffery Simmons, and Ben Johnson, so I am sleeping well at night.
