The Chicago Bears showed us exactly who they think they are late last week when they traded for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans.
The Bears gave up first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028 for a 29-year-old linebacker. They may believe that because of their successes on the field, they will be late first-round picks, but it’s still a big price for a player who isn’t exactly new in NFL terms.
That suggested the Bears believe they are all-in. They were 5-2 when they made that trade and thought they could improve a defense that actually started the season pretty well, but had room for improvement.
On Monday night the Bears upheld that big trade and perhaps sent another message to the rest of the NFL and the viewing public as they rolled into Seattle and recorded an emphatic 34-17 win over the hometown Seahawks, and Simmons made an impact right away. He led the team with six tackles, had one sack, two tackles were for a loss and he hit a pass.
More importantly, this Bears team looks complete now. They are led by a coach who is imaginative, aggressive and has enough crazy to keep this team on the edge in Ben Johnson.
Caleb Williams was great again in Seattle and he is elevating his game to an MVP level. It’s never going to be easy going against the Seahawks defense, and it’s not going to be all about structure.
If you remove Caleb Williams from his seat, he will be more than happy. So he had to work on his yardage Monday night, and it didn’t look spectacular in terms of the box score — 247 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions — but it’s what he’s done to keep this team energized, to keep them moving, and his connection to his passing game targets continues to be at a high level and he’s got good weapons.
Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland and then Luther Burden has come in as a new wide receiver. Khalif Raymond always seems to come up with a big game when needed. The running game is there too.
We’re waiting for Kyle Monangai to return from injury, but D’Andre Swift had three hits in Seattle, so this is a team that seems to have all the pieces in place right now, and they have confidence.
If they didn’t have confidence, they wouldn’t go out and make that trade for Simmons, and I think that’s the other thing: This move sends a wave of confidence and excitement and energy into that Bears locker room.
They played that way Monday in the toughest of environments, and now at 6-2 the Bears approach the midway point of this season in great shape, looking like they’ve addressed every area of their team and looking like they’re very well led.
These are all tangible things, but the intangibles are also important. These Bears feel very good about themselves and feel good about where they are going in the second half of the season.
They made progress last year in terms of making the playoffs and getting past the first round. This feels like a classic postseason year where you can go deep and make a certain run and that’s why those passionate fans in the Windy City are dreaming of a Super Bowl for the first time since then and a Super Bowl win for the first time since the 1985 season.
Watch the 2026 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every minute of the play-offs and Super Bowl LXI on Sunday 14 February 2027. Get the latest Sky Sports offers OR transmission without contract in TANI.
