The Chicago Bears have hit the midpoint of the 2026 regular season after the first nine weeks and fittingly it lines up with the team’s Week 10 bye week. It couldn’t have come at a better time for this team to rest up, and search for ways to improvement, before the second half of the season.

“I believe the best is yet to come in terms of our football in the back half of this season. We’ll continue to build that as we go forward,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “They need some rest right now. That’s what they need. They need to get away from these coaches. We’ll clean up some things over the next couple of days and get them free from us for a little bit.”

And so, the Bears are currently away from the facilities and enjoying a much needed break after getting through the first nine games. And with this being the halfway point, what better time than now to break down what could be in store for this team after such a strong start to the season.

Race for the NFC North title is going to be a competitive one

At 7-2, the Bears currently lead the NFC North race after the first nine games of the season. However, all four teams in the division have 6+ wins. It’s an ultra-competitive division and one that’s going to come down to the wire.

Using the A to Z Sports NFL Playoff Predictor, we can see how competitive this division actually is after the first-half of the season. Here are the current percentages for each team to win the division title:

• Detroit Lions (6-2): 33%
• Chicago Bears (7-2): 31%
• Minnesota Vikings (6-2): 24%
• Green Bay Packers (6-3): 11%

What’s interesting here is that the Lions have a higher percentage to win the NFC North right now than the Bears, yet the Bears have the highest percentage chance of making the playoffs (85 percent) than any of the other three teams.

The reason behind that is mainly due to the fact that the Bears are 0-2 currently in divisional play while the Lions are 2-0. That 0-2 start in divisional play really hurts the Bears’ chances of winning the NFC North right now and it shows how important those remaining divisional games will be for this team.

Race for the #1 seed is looking like a four-horse competition right now

Winning the division is a nice plus to secure home field advantage in at least one playoff game. Securing the #1 seed, getting the first-round bye, and having the opportunity to host every playoff game is every team’s top goal.

That race right now is looking like a four-horse competition between the San Francisco 49ers (7-1), the Bears, the Lions, and the Vikings. Here’s how the race for the #1 seed currently looks:

• San Francisco 49ers: 44%
• Chicago Bears: 18%
• Detroit Lions: 18%
• Minnesota Vikings: 13%

The 49ers have jumped to a commanding lead in the NFC conference. Not only are the 49ers 7-1 on the season, they’re also 3-0 in divisional play, and 4-1 against the conference. Meanwhile, the Bears are 5-2 in conference play, again with both losses coming against divisional opponents.

What are the Bears’ chances of making, or winning, the Super Bowl after Week 9?

Looking at the biggest picture, the Bears have the second-highest percentage right now to make the playoffs out of the NFC. Here’s how that currently looks:

• San Francisco 49ers: 27%
• Chicago Bears: 16%
• Detroit Lions: 13%
• Minnesota Vikings: 10%

As for winning the Super Bowl, our model currently favors two teams in the AFC in the Buffalo Bills (7-2) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) with the Bears having the fourth-highest percentage to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

• Buffalo Bills: 15%
• Jacksonville Jaguars: 14%
• San Francisco 49ers: 12%
• Chicago Bears: 8%
• Cincinnati Bengals: 8%

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Overall, the Bears have to feel really good about the spot they’re in after the first nine weeks of the season. But, now isn’t the time to get complacent. The real work is just getting started and will determine how far this team can go.

Coming out of the bye week, the Bears face the toughest remaining schedule in the league which includes two massive holiday divisional games against the Lions (Thanksgiving) and the Packers (Christmas).

There’s a lot of football still left to be played and things can swing in a hurry. But, for those wondering, these are how things stand that this current point.