How you know things have really changed for the Chicago Bears in 2025

Life comes at you fast in the NFL. And for the Chicago Bears, that’s a really good thing.

In just one season under head coach Ben Johnson’s watch, the Bears have gone from NFC North cellar dwellers to the kings of the division, winning their first NFC North crown since 2018.

The Bears are an 11-win team and can finish the 2025 season as high as the No. 2 seed and no lower than the No. 3 seed.

We had to go through a whole lot of ‘Matt Eberflus’ seasons to get here.

And the NFL has taken notice, too.

MORE: How Week 18 will impact the Bears’ wild card playoff opponent

The Bears-Lions Week 18 game will, once again, get Fox Sports No. 1 announcing team, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

Chicago Bears drawing national TV attention

Indeed, that may seem like no big deal to the average fan. But for Chicago Bears fans who’ve endured miserable late-December games over the last half-decade, being one of the showcase franchises in Week 18 is a milestone moment.

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It’s also an opportunity for the Bears to fix any remaining issues before the playoffs arrive at Soldier Field in two weeks.

“I didn’t feel like our offense did our part in the first half,” Johnson said of the Bears’ loss to the 49ers. “We did not possess the ball. We had a couple three-and-outs. You look at our defense and they got a pick-six, they got a couple punts, and if we bow up in the red zone, I think we feel better about their performance. That’s not to take anything away from San Fran; they did a great job, but there are certainly things fundamentally that we can improve on and we’re going to look to address this week.”