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ESPN analyst sets lofty goal for Chicago Bears to have success in 2025

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 5:27 PM ET

There are 32 teams in the National Football League and almost every single one of them has a different definition of 'success' in the 2025 season. Some teams expect to win a Super Bowl while others just want to see their young quarterback show progress. Where do the Chicago Bears fall on this spectrum? Some might say that finishing 9-8 with Caleb Williams mastering Ben Johnson's offense would qualify as a success.

For others, like ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, the expectations must be a little bit higher than that. Smith appeared on ESPN's "First Take" program on Wednesday morning and discussed the Chicago Bears. When asked to define what success in 2025 would look like, Smith's answer was simple: compete for the division title. He granted that this sounded far-fetched considering how dominant the NFC North was in 2024, but clarified later that the expectation is not to actually win the division, but to be 'in the mix' for the division title.

This may sound like asking a lot from a first-time head coach and second-year quarterback, but it's more than fair for several reasons. First off, as Smith laid out in his segment, the rest of the division is facing headwinds of their own. The Lions lost both of their coordinators and two of their starting offensive linemen. The Vikings are turning the keys to the franchise over to a quarterback who still has yet to see any NFL action. The Packers, and quarterback Jordan Love in particular, regressed in 2024 and were a tipped field goal away from going 0-6 in the division.

Contrast this to the Bears, which was Smith's second point. Chicago has been the media's offseason darling after hiring Ben Johnson away from the Lions to mentor Caleb Williams and improving their offensive line to the point that Pro Football Focus ranked it as fourth-best in the NFL. While the rest of the division either took steps back or made lateral moves, the Bears made waves and are expected to take a big leap forward in 2025.

I think Stephen A. Smith is spot-on in his assessment. The NFC North may still be a gauntlet, but if Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are the head coach and quarterback duo that they've been hyped up to be, then there's no reason that they can't at least hang with the Lions, Vikings, and Packers into January.

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

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