The Chicago Bears' 2024 season fell short of a lot of high expectations, there's no other way to say it besides that.

Many expected the Bears to finally become a playoff contender this season and instead the team finished with another Top-10 selection following a 5-12 season.

Statistically, a lot of people were projecting the Bears' top three wide receivers to put up insane numbers with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and believed Williams would shatter all the rookie records in Chicago.

Some of those predictions came true, but not all of them. Back in September before the season kicked off, I had five bold predictions for the Bears' season. Let's take a look back at those predictions and see how close we got to predicting the future.

1. Kyler Gordon reaches 3+ sacks on the season

At the time, this seemed like the safest lock out of all five predictions. The Bears were very particular about using Kyler Gordon in various blitz packages during the summer and preseason and he seemed to be a natural at it.

By the time the season came around, the Bears opted to rely heavily on their base 4-man rush and didn't really blitz that much. Gordon also missed two games do to injury. He finished the season with just half a sack against the Carolina Panthers.

Fellow defensive back Kevin Byard had two sacks on the season but none of the team's DBs reached the 3+ sack number. It's disappointing for Gordon when it comes to this prediction because he was credited with 48 pass rush snaps and had nine pressures, he just wasn't able to hit home as often as I expected.

2. Keenan Allen hits 100 receptions for 6th time in his career

When the Bears traded for Keenan Allen, everyone knew he would be a reliable option in the passing game for Williams to turn to in key situations. For the most part, he was able to do that, but he also had a lot of issues with his consistency and connection.

Allen finished the season well shy of the 100 reception mark, totaling 70 receptions, but he did lead the team with seven receiving touchdowns.

He was also targeted 121 times during the season, the second-most on the team behind DJ Moore. PFF credited Allen with a team-high 8 drops on the season, which ranked T-8th among all pass catchers in the NFL. The connection we expected just was never there for the majority of the season, holding Allen back from reaching my goals during his first, and maybe only, year in Chicago.

3. Tyrique Stevenson leads the team in interceptions

The Bears' second-year cornerback certainly hit some highs and lows during the season. After Week 1, where Stevenson was named Defensive Player of the Week, it seemed like Stevenson was in for a career year.

However, we all remember his blunder against the Washington Commanders that led to a game-winning Hail Mary for Washington. Overall, Stevenson was able to build back his confidence by the end of the season and still played a key role on defense.

In terms of my prediction, this one held true. Stevenson finished the year with two interceptions with was tied for a team-high alongside the team's only Pro Bowler, Jaylon Johnson. As a team, the Bears only recorded 11 interceptions in 2024. Last year, the team recorded 22 with three players (including Stevenson) having 4 each.

4. Velus Jones Jr. finishes 2nd on the team in rushing yards

Woof. This one was bad. No only did Velus Jones not record a single rushing yard, he also didn't even make it seven games into the season before the Bears cut him.

In my defense, the Bears had high hopes for Jones going into the season after moving him from wide receiver to running back. In the preseason, Jones led the team with 158 rushing yards. But, ranking second out of the backfield in the regular season wouldn't have been a high bar to clear. Roschon Johnson finished second among non-QBs on the team with just 150 rushing yards. Caleb Williams technically finished second on the team with 489 yards on the ground.

Jones' downfall came in Week 1 after fumbling a kickoff against the Tennessee Titans. He was never put back deep again and was listed as an inactive for each game until his eventual release. Great use of a player the front office turned down a trade request for.

5. Caleb Williams becomes the Bears first 4,000 yard passer

This was bold at the time, considering it has never happened in franchise history and I was expecting Williams to do it in his first year, but man he got closer than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Williams finished his rookie season with 3,541 passing yards, the fifth-most in a single season in Bears' franchise history. Reaching the 4,000 yard mark was always an outrageous prediction, especially considering only six quarterbacks did so in 2024.

However in one year, Williams easily proved that it's only a matter of time until that franchise single-season passing yard record is his to claim.

Bears’ DT Gervon Dexter starts his pitch for a new running mate he wants the team to draft in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft

It would be quite the reach.