ESPN leaks NFLPA report cards and one surprising grade for the Bears explains some recent actions taking place in Chicago
The Chicago Bears had a major turnaround in the report card grades this year.
Despite certain owners pushing to keep it hidden from the public eye, the NFL Players Association report cards got leaked anyways by ESPN on Thursday and we finally get a chance to see how the Chicago Bears graded out after the first season under Ben Johnson.
Turns out, the Bears were miles better than the previous season. Who could have guessed that? But seriously, here are the noteworthy grades from 2025 to see how the Bears graded out.
The notable difference was the Bears going from a “C” at head coach to an “A” after going from Matt Eberflus to Ben Johnson, an expected grade after seeing the impact and level of accountability Johnson brought to Chicago over the last 13 months.
Former offensive coordinator Declan Doyle received an A- grade, and now is on to bigger and better things with the Baltimore Ravens. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower received a B- grade. As for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, his grade might surprise you, but don’t look to much into it from Allen’s side of things.
Dennis Allen was not the problem with the Bears defense and Chicago is making that clear
Allen received a C+ grade following the 2025 season, the second-lowest grade on the team’s entire report card. While many might knock Allen because of that, let’s remember that Allen inherited the majority of the 2024 defense, many of whom didn’t fit his scheme or with his vision.
That’s something the Bears have made clear over the last few weeks since the season ended. Chicago will have at least 50 percent turnover on the starting defense going into next season and already have two players on the trade block in LB Tremaine Edmunds and DT Gervon Dexter. Not to mention the number of pending free agents that likely won’t be back.
So, yeah, it’s not surprising that the defensive players felt the way they did about their coordinator and many of those players won’t be back in the fold in 2026.
It was clear watching the Bears throughout the season that there was a disconnect between the players on the field and the scheme they were expected to run. It just wasn’t a good fit and Allen did the best he could making things work for 19 games.
Now, Allen gets the opportunity to be at the forefront this offseason and work with general manager Ryan Poles to bring his kind of players into the building. I’ll be interested to see what his grade looks like next season when the report cards leak.
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