Ben Johnson’s dismissal of Bears’ surprising 1 seed is actually encouraging

By now, reality has set in. When you initially looked at the top of the NFC standings after Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season, I'm sure some part of you thought there had to be a mistake. The Chicago Bears, at 9-3, currently lined up for the NFC postseason's lone bye week as the No. 1 overall seed? That doesn't feel real. The last time the Bears were the NFC's top seed this late into a season was the last time they went to the Super Bowl ... in 2006. If you're a Bears fan, this is a legitimate milestone to celebrate. No one expected the Bears to hang with the NFC's preseason heavyweights like the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers.

Provided you're simply an observer watching on your couch or in the stands, it's worth reveling in how far the Bears have come. If you're Bears first-year head coach Ben Johnson, you see your team's "success" differently. By that, I mean you don't see possessing a top playoff seed in early December as success at all. There's still so much work to do and so many details to clean up. As fun as their turnaround has been, relaxing now would defeat the purpose of the Bears' entire journey.

Beyond the obvious on-field improvements like the Bears' dominant running game, that mentality from Johnson is precisely why it feels like he has legit staying power. It's also why his Bears, who have a .750 winning percentage this late into the season, mainly because of their hotshot coach, might be better than we think:

I recognize that Johnson sounds like a stereotypical Football Guy here. It sounds like he seemingly can't enjoy the moment because he's too wrapped up in the big picture and under too much pressure to win every week like every other big-time football coach. It sounds like he's too caught up in being the "Bad Guy" to his players. It sounds like he lives and breathes football (which he probably does, but you get the idea).

But dearest readers, that's what good coaching is! Enjoying the wins and the journey along the way is for emotionally invested fans. By direct contrast, approaching your success to this point like you haven't accomplished anything, like you have a short memory, is, quite literally, Johnson's job. Every week is a chance to improve. Every week is a chance to iron out mistakes. It's how he should be thinking, and it's the mentality he should be passing on to his players.

His Bears don't have the time or energy to rest on their laurels, and that's a good thing.

The Bears still have two games left against the rival Green Bay Packers, who have tormented them as a franchise for over three decades. They'll have to go on the road against the resurgent San Francisco 49ers in primetime in the second-to-last week of the season, and they have a date with Johnson's old team, the Detroit Lions, in the season finale. You also better believe Myles Garrett's Cleveland Browns will have something feisty to say to Chicago.

Even as the current top NFC playoff seed, the Bears have their work cut out for them over the next five weeks. That Johnson, who has remade the Bears in his image, understands the path ahead while keeping his players on their toes is exactly what makes his team so dangerous.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ben Johnson downplaying Bears' NFC 1 seed shows why they're dangerous