The Bears have won four straight games in a single season for the first time since 2018. That’s a huge positive for Ben Johnson’s crew, especially because three of those victories were far from complete.

The Bears overcame major mistakes and found ways to come away with the win. There was plenty of good in Sunday’s 26-14 victory. The run game was awesome. The pass defense was, too.

The passing attack struggled mightily, in ways you wouldn’t expect against a lackluster Saints team. Caleb Williams has had some good moments this season but very few in his latest effort.

That’s where we’ll start in these Bears overreactions:

There’s real concern about Caleb Williams and the passing game

Overreaction?: Yes

Williams had a bad day at the office. He was frank about that in his postgame press conference, saying in no uncertain terms that he didn’t play well.

He missed on some potentially explosive plays down the field. He was late with some throws and inaccurate with others. He had some trouble with the snap exchange and overall just didn’t play much like himself.

Watching the game, there was no feel that this was the start of a troubling trend. He was under some duress. There were a few instances where Rome Odunze could’ve helped his quarterback out with some tough catches that fell incomplete.

There was nothing to me that wasn’t fixable with some good coaching, and the Bears have plenty of that. We’ve seen proof that the passing game can hum when run properly. Williams was right to be frustrated, and there’s no way he can play like that and expect leave Baltimore victorious.

I think we should chalk this up to a bad day in tough weather conditions that clearly impacted this game. It’s not anything more than that, especially with evidence of far better in the not-so-distant past.

[READ: What we learned from the Bears’ Week 7 victory over the Saints]

We should raise our expectations for Ben Johnson and the Bears in the 2025 campaign

Overreaction?: No

The Bears are 4-2, just like they were in 2024. This 4-2, however, feels far better than that one. It’s because the Bears are finding ways to win close games and have solutions-oriented coaches how know how to fix problems.

Not every stretch of the season will go as well as this one, but there’s a belief that the Bears can compete against most anyone. If they can keep stacking wins and fulfill Johnson’s promise of playing their best football late in the year, they’ll contend. That’s more than it was originally fair to expect.

Williams said postgame that the Bears believe they’re going to win every game, with the confidence that they’ve been well prepared for competition. You can feel that in the Bears locker room. The defense keeps the Bears in most every game save Week 2. If the run game can remain consistent, the Bears will be tough to beat each week.

[READ: Five Bears players whose stock went up or down in NFL Week 7 win over Saints]

The Bears can’t possibly keep up this run of takeaways

Overreaction?: No

The Bears have 15 takeaways in their last four games. That’s insane. Safety Kevin Byard III said the Bears wanted to get to 30 and they’re more than halfway there after Week 7. Getting four takeaways in each of the last three games is crazy, but speaks to the takeaways-first mindset being preached by position coaches and coordinator Dennis Allen.

Bears defensive backs are ballhawks, and Montez Sweat is thinking fumble-first when defending the run. With all that being said, it’s highly unlikely that the Bears can keep this up. That’s why the improved run defense and quarterback pressure rating has increased. That will be the defensive bedrock, setting up opportunities to take the ball away.

The biggest area of concern is the offense’s inability to turn the takeaways into touchdowns. The Bears are kicking too many field goals these days, and went 2-for-6 from the red zone. That’s not good and it’s keeping games closer than they should.

This Bears defense is super fun to watch, and they fly to the ball. They play smart defense and don’t give up many explosives these days. If they can get two or so per game and improve points off turnovers, this defense will be the catalyst to a lot more wins.  

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