The Chicago Bears were riding high entering 2024 after being crowned offseason champions of the world. The on-field side of things seemed to be trending in the right direction with the squad sitting pretty at 4-2 entering their Week 7 bye … and then Caleb Williams and Co. proceeded to drop 10 consecutive games before squeaking past the Packers in Week 18.

While the defense started to wilt a bit later in the season, they only allowed more than 21 points once prior to late November. The real problem was the offense, particularly their inability to create explosive plays through the air and on the ground alike.

 

Of course, new Head Coach Ben Johnson was hired to help fix that very problem—and he's at least theoretically got some young playmakers on offense to help make it happen.

Today we'll recap some of the good and bad of 2024 before getting into potential offseason injuries to monitor as well as team needs ahead of the 2025 offseason.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

CHICAGO BEARS 2024 RECAP

  • Record: 5-12 (7.5 preseason win total)
  • Points per game: 18.2 (28th)
  • EPA per dropback: -0.036 (25th)
  • EPA per rush: -0.142 (28th)
  • Points per game allowed: 21.8 (13th)
  • Leading passer: Caleb Williams (3,541 pass yards, 20 TD, 6 INT)
  • Leading rusher: D'Andre Swift (253 carries, 959 yards, 6 TD)
  • Leading receiver: DJ Moore (98 receptions, 966 yards, 6 TD)

Biggest surprise: RB D'Andre Swift

It honestly would've been easier to go with two disappointments here; nobody on the 2024 Bears offense truly surprised in an overly positive way.

That said, Swift at least managed to overcome the idea that he's not built tough enough to stay healthy (played all 17 games!) and/or handle a three-down role (career-high 295 touches!). Overall, 2024 marked the first time in Swift's five-year career that he didn't miss a single game due to an injury.

Perhaps the extra work was the primary reason why the ex-Lions/Eagles RB averaged a career-low 4.6 yards per touch; either way good on Swift for emerging as THE running back, y'all, after many expected Khalil Herbert and/or Roschon Johnson to beat him out.

Biggest disappointment: QB Caleb Williams

This is 100% relative to Williams' "generational" billing as the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 1 overall pick. There were plenty of highs; the former Heisman winner is certainly blessed with some special arm talent and can evade pass rushers with the best of them.

Still, there were too many times when the easy was hard, and negative plays were far too frequent, particularly when it came to avoiding sacks—only Will Levis (30.4%) had a higher pressure-to-sack rate than Williams (28.2%) in 2024.

Some weeks Williams really did look like Superman, other weeks … yikes.

 

Williams' overall EPA per dropback (-0.05) ranks 29th among 46 rookies with 300-plus dropbacks since 2010. That's within shouting distance of guys like Joe Burrow (-0.01, 20th) and Josh Allen (-0.03, 23rd), but also guys like Mike Glennon (-0.04, 26th), Brandon Weeden (-0.04, 27th), and Aidan O'Connell (-0.04, 28th).

Here's to hoping Coach Johnson brings out the best in Williams and helps the Bears field their first true high-end franchise QB … ever?

Key Injuries

The Bears aren't believed to be dealing with any overly worrisome offseason injuries to fantasy-relevant parties. Caleb Williams was spotted wearing a cast on his right wrist while attending a USC basketball game in January, but that was just from a “minor offseason elective procedure to remove a cyst.”

What Are The Biggest Needs of the Bears Ahead Of 2025?

Bears Need No. 1: Offensive line

I could have realistically made the three team needs center, offensive tackle, and offensive guard. That would have been funny!

Alas, we'll focus on more than just the Bears' much-maligned big uglies up front. PFF's reigning 24th-ranked offensive line allowed the most sacks in the NFL (37) even when controlling for plays that were deemed to be Williams' fault. Throw in the Bears' standing as the 23rd-ranked offense in RB rush yards before contact per carry, and it's clear this group was far from a strength in 2024.

The solution? Spend some resources on the group for once! The Bears are the only team with under $20 million 2025 dollars devoted to the offensive line, and they've drafted just three offensive linemen inside the top *150* picks in the last six drafts combined.

Bears Need No. 2: Interior defensive line

The Bears have the fifth-fewest 2025 dollars devoted to their interior defenders at the moment. While starters Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings return, the team's entire second-string defensive line is set to hit free agency.

Unfortunately, rolling things back with Dexter and Billings might not be good enough. They ranked 40th and 86th in PFF run defending grade among 146 qualified interior defenders last season, helping lead to the Bears' brutal 30th-place finish in EPA allowed per designed rush.

Overall, the Bears allowed the league's fifth-most rush yards in 2024 and the fifth-highest yards per carry mark. Getting the chance to play with more leads will help the former metric, but more stout defenders up the middle are probably needed to better assist the latter.

Bears Need No. 3: Running back

Swift wasn't terrible in 2024, but he, Roschon Johnson, and (briefly) Khalil Herbert simply weren't good enough when looking at advanced metrics that attempt to zero in on RB performance independent of their blocking.

 

Hell, Bears RBs also ranked 31st in explosive run play rate (4.6%). These stats are also at least somewhat influenced by the team's offensive line and play-calling; just realize at some point the Jims and Joes need to take some responsibility and not blame everything on the Xs and Os.