Mike Clay's 2025 projections for the Bears has Ben Johnson's offense coming close to rivaling the best offensive core in franchise history
Expectations are once again getting high for the Chicago Bears during the offseason, but this time the team should have the ability to back up all the hype in 2025.It all starts with head coach Ben Johnson. He's creating a detail-oriented, no-nonsense, culture for the organization with the help of a talented coaching staff.On the […]
Expectations are once again getting high for the Chicago Bears during the offseason, but this time the team should have the ability to back up all the hype in 2025.
It all starts with head coach Ben Johnson. He's creating a detail-oriented, no-nonsense, culture for the organization with the help of a talented coaching staff.
On the field, the Bears have made considerable upgrades on both sides of the ball and added the missing pieces to help elevate the entire team.
The offensive side of the ball has received the most overhaul, which makes sense given Johnson's offensive background. As the head coach and play-caller, Johnson got to hand pick the talent he wanted to bring into the building to help surround quarterback Caleb Williams going into his second season.
As a result, the Bears have put together a very talented offensive core in 2025 that has the ability to put up some strong numbers on the stat sheet.
Last week, ESPN's Mike Clay went through each NFL roster and projected the various stats for notable players on both sides of the ball. For the Bears' offense, he's projecting a ridiculous season that could rival the best offensive production in recent franchise history.
We are, of course, referring to the 2013 Bears' offense that finished second in the NFL in scoring and eight in total yards. So, let's take a look at Clay's projection and how it matches up to the 2013 production.
Bears 2025 Stat Projections vs 2013 Bears Offense
Let's start with the quarterback. In 2013, Jay Cutler had a shaky season compared to his more productive 2014 season, after missing five games. So, here's the combined total between Cutler and Josh McCown in the passing game.
Passing Yards: 4,281
Passing TDs: 32
Interceptions: 13
Now, here's the projection for Caleb Williams going into Year 2 and his first season under Ben Johnson's offense:
Passing Yards: 3,917
Passing TDs: 25
Interceptions: 11
Clay is teasing fans with this one, projecting Williams to finish 83 yards shy of 4,000. But, 3,917 yards would still be the highest single-season total by one QB in franchise history. And 25 touchdowns would put Williams in the Top-5 in that category as well.
As for the run game, the 2013 offense was dominated all over the field by Matt Forte, who earned Pro Bowl recognition that season. Here was his final stat line:
Rushing Yards: 1,339
Rushing TDs: 9
Total Yards: 1,933
Total TDs: 14
Clay didn't project the same level of dominance for running back D'Andre Swift but still having him shine as a dual-threat weapon while commanding the backfield work:
Rushing Yards: 1,035
Rushing TDs: 8
Total Yards: 1,329
Total TDs: 9
Finally, let's look at the true pass catchers. The 2013 offense had some insane numbers led by Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, and Earl Bennett at wide receiver with Martellus Bennett at tight end.
Alshon Jeffery
Receiving Yards: 1,421
Receiving TDs: 7
Brandon Marshall
Receiving Yards: 1,295
Receiving TDs: 12
Earl Bennett
Receiving Yards: 243
Receiving TDs: 4
Martellus Bennett
Receiving Yards: 759
Receiving TDs: 5
In 2025, the top pass catchers based on Clay's projections will be DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III at wide receiver with Colston Loveland outshining Cole Kmet by wide margin at tight end.
DJ Moore
Receiving Yards: 1,064
Receiving TDs: 6
Rome Odunze
Receiving Yards: 1,012
Receiving TDs: 7
Luther Burden III
Receiving Yards: 502
Receiving TDs: 3
Colston Loveland
Receiving Yards: 664
Receiving TDs: 5
Seeing this kind of output from the Bears' offense in 2025 would be incredible considering it's the first season under the new offense, but it still wouldn't hold up against that insanely productive 2013 season, even if they finished the year 8-8.
Regardless, this Bears' offense is ripe to put up some major numbers in 2025, and who knows, maybe they can blow these projections out of the water and finish with a better result.
