Aug 17, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images David Banks-Imagn Images

Deja boo: NFL writer predicts hot Bears' start followed by another long losing streak

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Richie Whitt | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 10:10 PM ET

Every Chicago Bears fan intoxicated by Caleb Williams' scintillating opening drive last Sunday night is now seemingly convinced about their team going 17-0 this season. Or at least making the playoffs, right?

As impressive as it and the ensuing 38-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills was, back here on Earth there are some sobering predictions. Mainly by Sports Illustrated NFL writer Connor Orr's annual predictions, in which he projects the results of all 272 NFL regular-season games. According to SI, the Bears will indeed get off to a hot start. But after that ...

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How about a 7-10 record, in a NFC North division in which the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings go 10-7 and the third-place Green Bay Packers finish 9-8? That's right, despite the hype and hoopla surrounding Williams and new head coach Ben Johnson, SI projects the Bears to finish last place in the division. Again

Writes Orr about what would be an extremely disappointing Bears' season:

"The Bears have major hype potential, which is a massive pitfall. Everything about the team looks and seems great, but how much can we depend on an offensive line built through free agency and a young quarterback who is both brilliant and confounding? Much will be made of the losing streak I have the team going on from Weeks 8 to 14, but just look at the opponent set: at the Ravens, at the Bengals, the Giants (who, yes, will be bad, but have three good pass rushers who could take advantage of a banged up offensive line at this point), at the Vikings, the Steelers, at the Eagles and at the Packers. You’ll need to have a genius for a head coach to survive this particular run. Ben Johnson was hired to do that with Caleb Williams."

SI predicts the Bears jumping out of the gate 3-0 with victories over the Vikings, at the Lions and over the Dallas Cowboys. At that point, the Super Bowl hype train would be steaming full-speed ahead. But then comes the ugly seven-game losing streak, which includes even a home loss to the New York Giants.

Williams and the Bears started 4-2 last season before the 10-game losing streak killed the season and got Matt Eberflus fired. Surely Johnson won't follow a similar script.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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