The Chicago Bears are entering the 2024 NFL season as the most bet on team to go over their win total after a massive offseason that included drafting former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick.
While Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson appreciates the optimism from bettors and fans, he believes that it’s all about action and results.
“I’m tired of just having upside and having potential,” Johnson said Saturday, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “I want to be in a position where we actually go out there, and we are that — not just what we’re projected to be.
“It’s about action at this point. So the projections, the energy, the enthusiasm all feel good in the beginning because everybody, every team, every fan [says], ‘Oh, this is our year!’”
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The 25-year-old Pro Bowler helped the Bears win five of their last eight games to close out the 2023 regular season on a positive note. Johnson, who inked a four-year, $76 million contract this offseason, added that Chicago has “added some much-needed help” to their roster this year.
“We gotta go out here and we gotta prove it,” Johnson, who has yet to experience a winning season during his four years with the Bears, added. “I think that starts with Day 1, starts with [Saturday when veterans reported for training camp]. But that’s something that’s gonna carry on from now until the end of the season. Whenever that is — if that’s playoffs or not.”
The postseason is exactly where Emmanuel Acho expects the Bears to be at this season’s end, and he explained why on a recent episode of “Speak.”
“My realistic expectations are for the Bears to make the playoffs,” he said. “The teams that I think are in the mix again are the Cowboys, Packers, Lions, Falcons, Bears and Rams. My realistic expectation for Caleb .. [is] either win the division and be one of the four or. … I would hope he would be Rookie of the Year.”
[Related: Connection between Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen could be key to Bears improving]
Nick Wright took it a step further, revealing that he believes the hype surrounding the Bears isn’t big enough after all the moves made at the end of last season and this offseason.
“All the points [Chris Broussard] likes to make about the [New York] Jets winning seven games with bad quarterback play applies to the Bears except they also added Rome Odunze,” Wright said on “First Things First.” “They also added — late in the season you saw the addition of it — a young and in his prime Montez Sweat and … a star quarterback who’s 20 years younger than Aaron Rodgers [and] not coming off a torn Achilles.
“For all those reasons, you have real reason to believe not only can this team go over eight and a half wins, that this team should make the playoffs and could be a very dangerous playoff team.”
Chicago has surrounded Williams with brand-new weapons, including veteran wideout Keenan Allen and Odunze — the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft.
Last season, the Bears boasted the No. 1 rushing defense in the league, allowing a total of just 1,468 yards. The unit also ranked second in rushing touchdowns allowed (eight) and fourth in yards per carry (3.8).
The Bears’ regular-season win total currently sits at 8.5, according to BetMGM. They have not won more than eight games since 2018, when they won 12.
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