The start of the Bears season Monday night, combined with the Cubs’ ongoing playoff push, is a moment in time to relish for frazzled Chicago sports fans.
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Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson watches his team during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 10 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune/TNS
The optimism created by the arrival of Bears coach Ben Johnson might be the perfect antidote for the seasonal anxiety created by the Cubs, who teased fans with a dominant offense and first-place team most of the year before pulling the rug out from under them after the All-Star break.
Together, they’re our last hopes to salvage a dismal 2025 and end a long stretch of playoff-free seasons from our legacy teams.
Have the Bears finally solved the quarterback puzzle that has haunted them for decades with a coach who can get the most out of Caleb Williams? Will the Cubs return to form in the postseason and clap back at their doubters?
The answers are forthcoming, though perhaps not as quickly as we’d like.
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It probably will take more than one season for Johnson’s Bears to make a real statement, and even as the Cubs are penciled into October as a National League wild-card team, a sudden exit only would increase the pressure on President Jed Hoyer after his midseason contract extension.
As we’ve noted on occasion, the 2020s have been a critical flop in these parts, more like the Snoring Twenties than the Roaring Twenties.
The 2021-22 Bulls are the last of our five legacy franchises to make the playoffs, and they quickly bowed out in the first round with a 4-1 series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The only other playoff team this decade in a non-pandemic year was the 2021 White Sox, a franchise now on the verge of its third straight season of 100-plus losses.
The Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls are in various stages of rebuilds, with no light at the end of any of their tunnels — and the same owner mismanaging two of those teams. Maybe the 2030s will be more fruitful, once said owner departs.
That leaves us with the Bears and Cubs, two teams that once shared the same ballpark and still share some of the same fundamental core issues of roster construction. Fair or not, the Cubs bullpen and Bears offensive line are traditionally guilty until proven innocent in Chicago, especially under the recent leadership of Hoyer and Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
Hoyer seemingly solved his Achilles’ heel this year by bringing in a slew of veteran relievers that helped turn the Cubs pen into one of the NL’s best all summer. Brad Keller and Caleb Thielbar have been the catalysts, and Hoyer learned a valuable lesson from last year’s Héctor Neris disaster, cutting his losses with would-be closer Ryan Pressly and giving Daniel Palencia a shot. Though shaky of late, Palencia might be the most effective Cubs closer since Wade Davis in 2017.
For all the work he did to improve the farm system, Hoyer received an extension in July in his fifth year on the job — before his team had made a postseason.
The promise of better days ahead negated the results of the last four years in the mind of Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts. Ditto for Poles, whose teams have posted a 15-36 record since 2022 but who received a three-year extension this summer from Bears Chairman George McCaskey without the benefit of a playoff season.
Chicago is the City of the Big Shoulders and Generous Owners.
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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams takes off his helmet on the sideline against the Texans on Sept. 15, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston. Bears fans Williams' sophomore season is a breakout year. John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune/TNS
Poles hopes to have fixed his own Achilles’ heel with the offseason acquisitions of veteran guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and center Drew Dalman. An improved line should give Williams a chance to make the kind of plays that made him the No.1 pick in the 2024 draft, instead of being a tackling dummy who holds on to the ball too long. Williams was sacked 68 times as a rookie, the third-most in NFL history, and more than a few were the byproduct of his indecisiveness in the pocket.
Williams and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are the two biggest sports figures in town, kindred spirits whose talent and charisma are undeniable. But both are 23 and need some guidance from above, which is where Johnson and Cubs manager Craig Counsell come in.
Counsell last week decided to bench his star for a “physical and mental break,” a strategy that seemed to work for veteran Kyle Tucker and has been employed by many managers with struggling players over the years. How Crow-Armstrong will respond down the stretch could determine whether the Cubs have a realistic shot at a long playoff run, presuming the pitching holds up and Tucker can stay healthy.
Crow-Armstrong was prematurely discussed as a potential MVP candidate in the first half, became the starting National League center fielder in the All-Star Game and had 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases at the break. Asked at the All-Star Game about the possibility of a 40-40 season, he didn’t pretend it wasn’t on his mind.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong rounds the bases after hitting a solo-homer during the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field, May 13, 2025, in Chicago.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong rounds the bases after hitting a solo-homer during the third inning against the Miami Marlins on May 13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know what my stats are, but I don’t translate that into: ‘I want to hit 40 homers and (steal) 40 bags,’ or whatever the mark is,” he said in Atlanta. “If I’m playing well, that usually translates into a better chance for the Cubbies to win ballgames.”
That first-half dominance quickly sputtered. Since Aug.1, Crow-Armstrong has only one home run and three steals, so he might have to make do with a 30-30 season — still a remarkable feat for a 23-year-old in his first full season.
Unfortunately for Crow-Armstrong, his sudden ascension led to greater expectations for both him and the team, which once had a 6½-game division lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. He desperately needs to pick it up for the Cubs to be the team they looked like in late June, though he left Saturday’s 2-1 loss after the sixth inning with a bruised right knee.
Williams is even more of a focal point for his team and has the thankless task of having to make up for the poor decision-making by Bears management in the past, including the drafting of the last two “savior” quarterbacks, Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields.
It’s impossible to judge Williams’ improvement on limited preseason play, but Johnson’s presence is expected to lift him to a level that the former head coach who can’t be named could not. The trust factor in Johnson’s play-calling abilities is unlike any we’ve seen between Bears fans and their coach since … maybe ever. Fox Sports analyst Greg Olsen told the Tribune’s Brad Biggs that it all could come down to more play-action calls by Johnson, an improved offensive line and added experience.
“Understand two-man reads, understand half-field reads, get the ball out of his hands, get completions,” Olsen said of Williams. “If he can do that, they’re talented enough around him that he doesn’t have to do more.”
Sounds easy enough, right?
While Johnson might be the most anticipated coaching hire in Bears history, the “genius” label comes with a Velcro attachment, as Counsell has learned in his first two seasons in Chicago after fleeing Milwaukee.
Counsell might be the most overscrutinized manager of a probable playoff team we’ve seen on the North Side. Daily criticism of his lineups, batting orders and pitching decisions appear on social media, message boards and just about everywhere but Marquee Sports Network telecasts.
The Cubs should win 90-plus games and could get into the NL Championship Series with the right matchups, which would be a successful season for any manager. But Counsell still might get ripped for batting Matt Shaw eighth or playing Justin Turner against a left-hander.
That criticism comes with the territory when you’re the highest-paid manager — and Counsell shrugs it off with the best of them — but it shows how frustrated Cubs fans are after a four-year playoff drought.
It will be an interesting month for the Cubs and Bears, and perhaps the start of a new sports renaissance to end a dismal start to the decade.
Check back when the leaves have fallen.
31 historical photos of the Chicago Bears
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Bill Wade played in 59 games for the Bears from 1961 to 1966. Ray Gora
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Ed Brown played in 98 games for the Bears from 1954 to 1961. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Zeke Bratkowski played in 59 games for the Bears from 1954 to 1960. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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George Blanda, center, played in 115 games for the Bears as a kicker-quarterback from 1949 to 1958. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Wille Thrower played in one game during the Bears' 1953 season. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Steve Romanik, shown here in 1951, right, played in 24 games for Bears from 1950 to 1953. Ray Gora
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Johnny Lujack played in 45 games for Bears as a kicker-quarterback from 1948 to 1951. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Nick Sacrinty, left, played in 11 games during the Bears' 1947 season. Chicago Tribune
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Henry Burris played in six games during the Bears' 2002 season. JOHN SMIERCIAK
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Jim Miller played in 32 games for the Bears from 1999 to 2002. JOSé M. OSORIO
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Shane Matthews played in 20 games for the Bears from 1996 to 2001. JAMES PRISCHING
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Mark Hartsell played in one game during the Bears' 2000 season. John Smierciak
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Cade McNown played in 25 games for the Bears from 1999 to 2000. NUCCIO DINUZZO
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Moses Moreno played in two games during the Bears' 1998 season. JAMES PRISCHING
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Steve Stenstrom played in 11 games for the Bears from 1996 to 1998. TODD PANAGOPOULOS
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Erik Kramer played in 49 games for the Bears from 1994 to 1998. JOHN SMIERCIAK
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Steve Walsh played in 13 games for the Bears from 1994 to 1995. Chicago Tribune
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Rick Mirer played in seven games during the Bears' 1997 season. NUCCIO DINUZZO
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Jim Harbaugh played in 89 games for the Bears from 1987 to 1993. Nancy Stone
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Peter Tom Willis played in 21 games for the Bears from 1990 to 1993. Jim Prisching
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Will Furrer played in two games during the Bears' 1992 season. James Prisching
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Mike Tomczak played in 77 games for the Bears from 1985 to 1990. Chicago Tribune
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Mike Hohensee played in two games during the Bears' 1987 season. BILL HOGAN
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Steve Fuller played in 38 games for the Bears from 1984 to 1986. ED WAGNER JR
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Rusty Lisch played in seven games during the Bears' 1984 season. Chicago Tribune
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Bob Avellini played in 73 games for the Bears from 1975 to 1984. Chicago Tribune
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Vince Evans played in 56 games for the Bears from 1977 to 1983. Phil Mascione
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Mike Phipps played in 31 games for the Bears from 1977 to 1981. Ed Wagner Jr
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Gary Huff played in 43 games for the Bears from 1973 to 1976. Ed Wagner Jr
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Joe Barnes played in three games during the Bears' 1974 season. Ray Gora
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Jack Concannon played in 51 games for the Bears from 1967 to 1971. Ed Wagner Jr
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