The 2024 Chicago Bears season was an unmitigated disaster.
The team seemed to invent a different, unimaginable way to lose with each game. After starting the season 4-2, the Bears went on a 10-game losing streak, the second-longest in franchise history.
With the season finally over, it’s time to investigate what went wrong with the Bears and how each position group performed throughout the year.
QUARTERBACK: B+
Caleb Williams: 3,541 Yds, 20 TD, 6 INT
Despite undergoing a staff overhaul that included two different head coaches and three different offensive coordinators, Williams fought through the chaos and generated the most total yards of any Bears QB in a season. The No. 1 overall pick threw a rookie-record 353 straight passes without an interception, leading him to set the record for the best TD/INT ratio of any No. 1 pick in the common draft era.
While the team didn’t live up to the hype, Williams’ play often miraculously put the Bears in a position to win games. Through year one, he’s given Chicago every reason to keep believing he is the long-awaited franchise quarterback.
RUNNING BACKS: C
- D’Andre Swift: 959 Yds, 6 TD
- Roschon Johnson: 150 Yds, 6 TD
Like the entire offense, the Bears’ rushing attack this season was lackluster. The team ranked 27th in the league in yards per carry, and you could certainly feel it watching each game.
Swift rebounded after a slow start to the season, but his insistence on bouncing as many carries to the outside as possible resulted in many more negative plays than explosive ones, as well as a career-low 3.79 yards per attempt.
In year two, Johnson took a small step back in terms of carries but served as a solid power back in short-yardage scenarios, frequently pushing defenders to gain extra yards.
The group was nothing special, but they weren’t what held the team down.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT END: B
- D.J. Moore: 98 Rec, 966 Yds, 6 TD
- Keenan Allen: 70 Rec, 744 Yds, 7 TD
- Rome Odunze: 54 Rec, 734 Yds, 3 TD
- Cole Kmet: 47 Rec, 474 Yds, 4 TD
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For such a talented pass-catching unit, the results are a severe letdown. Moore remained great in the open field, posting a career-high 588 yards after the catch, but he — as well as the rest of the offense — fell victim to the overall lack of production, dropping his receiving total by almost 400 yards.
It was a similar story for veteran receiver Keenan Allen, who posted his fewest yards since 2016 in his first season in Chicago. However, Allen continued to showcase his route-running ability all year long, resulting in some big plays for the Bears.
The other new face in the group was the highly touted rookie Rome Odunze. Rome was clutch all season long and was Williams’ go-to in high-pressure situations. Odunze is masterful in jump-ball plays, and his heroic catches kept the Bears alive late in games on multiple occasions.
Kmet, the lone tight end utilized in the passing game, disappeared for long stretches during the year. Despite his reputation as a surehanded target and wrecking ball in the open field, the Bears sometimes appeared to remove him from the gameplan. Look for the new Bears coaching staff to get him more involved next season.
With one of the most talented receiving cores in the league, the Bears should expect much more production out of this group in the years to come.
OFFENSIVE LINE: F
The Bears surrendered a sack on a league-high 10.7% of passing attempts this season, giving up 68 sacks. While not every sack is the fault of the offensive line, good units simply do not reach this number.
The lone standout on the line is second-year tackle Darnell Wright. He was the 16th-best tackle in the league this season, finishing as the seventh-ranked run blocker at the position. He’s continued to showcase his talent, which made him one of the top 10 selected in 2023.
Besides the head coach, the top offseason priority should be investing in the offensive line, ensuring that Caleb Williams has all the time in the world to become the greatest Bears QB in history.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1835512666615603597
The Bears’ defensive line quietly posted a solid season. Losing DT Andrew Billings in the middle of the year hurt, but the team was still able to produce a 24.2% pressure rate, good for seventh-best in the league.
Montez Sweat, who the team traded for and extended last year, had a disappointing year. He didn’t reach half of his 2023 sack total, and he recorded a career-low 12 QB hits.
Where the line was most disappointing was in defending the run. The Bears got beat in the trenches all year long, amounting to the fifth-worst rushing defense. The interior defensive line will surely be an area the team looks to improve on before next season.
LINEBACKERS: C+
The Bears duo of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards each racked up triple-digit tackles again in their second season together. The two are a formidable center of the Bears’ defense and are all-around reliable players.
While they are a steady presence, neither had the standout seasons the team hoped for. Fans expected more out of Edmunds, who had an uncharacteristic season. Their impact as defense leaders shouldn’t be understated, but from a production standpoint, the Bears will be looking for more next year.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A-
https://twitter.com/BearsNationCHI/status/1875976973429981426
The DBs produced the team’s lone NFL Pro Bowler, former All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson. They also represented an area with limitless potential for the team, as young DBs Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Tyrique Stevenson continue to develop.
Gordon’s coverage improved this season as he was targeted less than in previous seasons, and he allowed a career low in completion percentage when targeted. At the same time, he also posted a career-high in tackles while delivering many big hits and hustle plays throughout the year.
Brisker was off to a hot start — forcing a fumble and grabbing an interception — in the first five games of the season before a concussion forced him to miss the remainder of the year. Assuming Brisker can get healthy, he’s in a prime position to join Gordon for career years in 2025.
Outside of another great season from Johnson, the headline of the group was Tyrique Stevenson’s mental errors. An embarrassing final play directly cost the Bears a win in Washington, and his absent-mindedness has continued to cost the team in big moments. Stevenson has the talent to be a mainstay in the Bears’ secondary, but to stay, he will need to focus more on getting his head in the game.
The talented group was aided by the addition of veteran safeties Kevin Byard III and Jonathan Owens, and the result was an impressive season that the Bears will look to build upon.
CHICAGO BEARS: D
For a team that improved on paper and went 7-10 in the previous season, finishing 5-12 is an unconscionable result. The Bears have the talent to be a playoff team but have failed to reach the mark at almost every level.
This offseason has the potential to be the most important in franchise history as the team looks to put together the right group around Caleb Williams. With a strategic head coaching hire, revamped offensive and defensive lines, and a renewed sense of culture, the sky is the limit for the Chicago Bears.
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