The 2025 Chicago Bears currently mirror a past squad—and no, not last year’s nightmarish team that also started 4-2.
The actual resemblance is to the infamous, unforgettable 2018 Bears.
First-Year Offensive-Minded Head Coaches
The first similarity between the two teams appears in the front office rather than on the field: the hiring of new head coaches.
In 2018, Ryan Pace entered his fourth season as the Bears’ general manager and was searching for a new head coach. Each of the last three seasons resulted in a combined 14-34 record, and John Fox, the head coach during those three seasons, was fired.
He landed on Matt Nagy, considered to be an offensive virtuoso who spent the previous two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Nagy worked alongside legendary head coach Andy Reid for the prior 10 seasons between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chiefs.
“It’s a really great feeling when you meet a person and everything clicks, and everything comes together,” Pace said about Nagy at his introductory press conference. “Matt’s a proven leader. He’s a winner. He’s intelligent. He’s innovative. He has strong character. He’s got a great family. And he shares the same passion for the game that I have.”
2025 resembles an eerily similar scenario. General manager Ryan Poles is also in his fourth season. He fired former head coach Matt Eberflus after three and a half seasons and a nearly-identical 14-32 record.
He turned to Ben Johnson, another renowned offensive mastermind.
Poles shared similar statements about his new coach at the introductory press conference, stating, “Our entire organization is fired up about Ben Johnson. Throughout the entire process, we came away really impressed with his passion, his leadership, his football IQ, and his vision for winning football.”
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Two Second-Year Highly-Talented Quarterbacks
A large part of why Nagy and Johnson were brought in was to develop their young quarterbacks.
The Bears drafted Mitchell Trubisky second overall in 2017—in a draft class with big-name quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Trubisky’s rookie season saw mediocre results. But with Nagy as head coach, he turned in a Pro Bowl campaign in his sophomore season. In 14 games, he threw for 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns, just 7 interceptions, and a 66.7% completion rate.
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Fast-forward to today, Caleb Williams in his second season after being selected first overall in 2024. Williams’ draft class also came stacked with quarterback talent. Williams had a sneakily-elite first year, but the explosion of Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick by the Washington Commanders, had many fans questioning if Chicago made the right pick.
Compared to last season, Williams is throwing for more yards per game, yards per attempt, and a greater touchdown percentage. He’s also taking significantly less sacks, which was an issue for him in his rookie year. Although his completion percentage is slightly down and his interception percentage is slightly up, it’s not cause for concern given the difference in coaching philosophies, as Eberflus was a defensive-minded coach who was more strict about limiting turnovers.
While a Pro Bowl season is unlikely due to the immense talent in the NFC this season, it is encouraging to see Williams’ clear improvement from last season to now.
Two Defenses Stacking Turnovers
The 2018 Bears defense was nicknamed “Monsters of the Midway 2.0,” a nod to the legendary ’85 team. The squad from seven years ago was truly elite, finishing with six Pro Bowl selections. Three of those six were first-team All-Pro players—Kyle Fuller, Eddie Jackson, and Khalil Mack, who earned runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year.
The defense allowed just 17.7 points per game and forced 36 total takeaways, both best in the league. The unit was led by Vic Fangio, who was entering his 23rd year as an NFL defensive coordinator.
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The 2025 Bears defense has not been as good statistically as the 2018 defense. They’ve allowed 25.8 points per game, ranking just 25th in the NFL. But where this year’s team makes up for it is forcing turnovers at an incredible level.
Through Week 7, Chicago has forced 16 turnovers, tops in the league, just like the 2018 squad. This is despite having a bye in Week 5, so they’ve done so in one less game than many other teams.
Rest of Season Outlook
Through six games, the 2025 team (4-2) has a better record than the 2018 team (3-3). However, the 2018 team went 9-1 down the stretch—which featured separate win streaks of five, and four games en route to a 12-4 finish. Nagy received Coach of the Year, Pace earned Executive of the Year, and the Bears finished as the No. 3 seed in the NFC.
(Surely everything went well against the 9-7 Philadelphia Eagles at home in the Wild Card Round, right?)
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It may be unrealistic to put these sorts of expectations on the 2025 Bears, as the 2018 Bears went on a remarkable run down the final stretch of the season. But with all the similarities between the two teams—the front office decisions, the quarterback situation, and the takeaways on defense—it is hard not to feel the magical feeling from seven seasons ago right now.
And if Johnson’s team can continue to develop at the same trajectory, maybe these Bears won’t just mirror the 2018 squad. Perhaps they will surpass it.
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