The Chicago Bears are 8-3. Let that sink in for a second.
Unfortunately, not all 8-3 teams are treated equally. For a team like the Bears, which has a recent history of being one of the NFL's biggest losers, their 8-3 record has been met with skepticism by talking heads across football media.
That could soon be changing.
MORE: PFF Grades are in: Here's who led the Chicago Bears' defense in Week 12 vs. Steelers
One of the most popular of those talking heads, ESPN's Pat McAfee, made a bold statement during Monday's edition of The Pat McAfee Show about this Bears team. Specifically, he declared Chicago is for real:
This Chicago Bears team is the REAL DEAL#PMSLive https://t.co/qS4rSA6QH2 pic.twitter.com/ehjMgTuUBn
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 24, 2025
"The Bears are the Kings of the North," Mcafee said. "This is real."
"Let me talk about what I like about Caleb Williams," McAfee continued. "Ben Johnson, what he was able to do with the Detroit Lions with Jared Goff. He turned Jared Goff, who is a robot, into a very, very, very, very efficient robot ... so we wondered is Caleb Williams ever going to be able to buy into the Ben Johnson system? For all that to happen, you need a lot of things. You need a great offensive line, they invested into the offensive line. You need a great run game."
MORE: PFF grades are in: Here's who led the Chicago Bears offense in Week 12 vs. Steelers
McAfee aptly pointed out that the Bears have those two things, and now Williams is fully bought in, and the results are speaking for themselves.
Williams has thrown for 2,568 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions. His 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is elite, even if his 59.2% completion percentage has fallen short of Ben Johnson's goal of 70%.
The Chicago Bears have an opportunity to announce their arrival as a really real team on Black Friday in a nationally televised game against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Until then, they'll need more high-profile personalities like Pat McAfee pushing this narrative forward.
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