As preseason gets set to open for the rest of the NFL besides the first Bears regular-season opponent, Carolina, and the Arizona Cardinals, the words of coach Ben Johnson stood out even more.
Earlier in camp he had what seemed to be a cloaked war of words with Jaguars coach Liam Coen and actually took a shot at the offseason media forecasts for the Bears as well.
"Well, we're the No. 1 regression candidate," Johnson retorted after Coen had been complaining about how much media coverage Caleb Williams gets and the prime-time dates the Bears have as opposed to his team and QB Trevor Lawrence.
True enough, the offseason has been full of the Bears named as regression candidates. Whether it was CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NFL.com or any number of other outlets, the Bears are always named among top regression candidates and it's usually based on their toughest NFL schedule and how they won so many close games while winning the takeaway battle, as well. Then there are the Caleb Williams doubters who don't see him as capable of raising his completion percentage. That's an entirely different level of anti-Bears rhetoric.
Bears regression in 2026-27 is going to hit like a truck🤯• 11 wins, but only a +26 point differential• Expected record was just 9.1–7.9• NFL-best +22 turnover margin, even if they remain good at taking the ball away and get like a +10 thats still 12 less possessions… pic.twitter.com/LprPTILEsZ— Carson Caldwell (@caldwellcorner_) July 27, 2026What's important is how most of the predictions call for the Bears to decline, even though Vegas hasn't seen this as a likely path.
