The games have officially begun. The 2025 NFL season started Thursday night when the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Dallas Cowboys.

There’s plenty of hype surrounding the Chicago Bears this season. New head coach Ben Johnson takes over, and many will be interested to see whether he can continue his dynamic offensive play-calling in Chicago. He and quarterback Caleb Williams will get their first chance to show what they can do against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night at Soldier Field.

Shaw Local Bears reporter Michal Dwojak and Northwest Herald sports reporter Joe Aguilar are making their predictions for the 2025 Bears. Who will be the team MVP? How many games will the Bears win? What will be the biggest surprise?

Here’s a look at their predictions.

Bears MVP

Aguilar: QB Caleb Williams

It has to be Williams. Has to be. If not, it’s going to be another long NFL season for the Bears and their fans.

Pay no attention to the national experts and league-wide skeptics who want to label the 2024 first overall pick a bust. Whiz kid Johnson will get the most out of Williams, who has too many weapons — and improved protection upfront with a revamped offensive line — to mess this up.

Will Williams be perfect? No. Will he be good? No. He will be great.

Dwojak: QB Caleb Williams

I’m going with the obvious choice here, too. Williams is the most important Bear to the team’s success this season. Everyone wants to see how he does in Johnson’s offense and whether he can live up to being the former No. 1 overall pick.

The table is set for Williams. He’s got a plethora of offensive weapons surrounding him and a revamped offensive line, like you said. If he stays healthy all year, Williams should take a major step this season, which will include breaking the Bears’ single-season passing record.

Rookie of the Year

Aguilar: WR Luther Burden III

An actual left tackle (not a right tackle) might have been the wiser move with the 39th overall pick. But the Bears thought the Missouri wide receiver was too good to pass up, even though they drafted Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick in 2024.

Burden hasn’t disappointed in the preseason. A great yards-after-catch guy, Burden has bought into Johnson’s “no block, no rock” threat. He’s physical, talented, swaggy, and won’t need 10 targets a game to be a difference-maker.

Dwojak: TE Colston Loveland

This one feels like a no-brainer to me. The Bears selected Loveland at No. 10 because he presents a unique option for Williams as a receiving threat that will create plenty of different mismatches because of his speed and size.

I agree that Burden should also get some looks this season and has a chance to be a special player. But Loveland should be a big safety net for Williams as he goes through his progressions. If Williams and Loveland build a rapport early in the season, it’ll be tough to stop that duo.

Defensive Player of the Year

Aguilar: LB T.J. Edwards

He’s not the most talented or athletic Bears defender. But I don’t know about the health of Jaylon Johnson’s groin, Kyler Gordon’s hamstring or Jaquan Brisker’s many-times-concussed noggin. And I don’t trust Montez Sweat’s ability to get double-digit sacks, because I don’t know if the Bears have the defensive lineman on their roster to complement him, still.

Edwards has played in all 17 regular-season games in each of the past three seasons. In 2021, with the Philadelphia Eagles, he played in 16 games, starting 14. He shows up, and that counts. He tackles, he gets an occasional sack, and he’ll be better coached in 2025.

Dwojak: CB Jaylon Johnson

If everything goes right, Jaylon Johnson will play a vital role in the defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense. Allen requires a lot of man-to-man coverage in his scheme, and that should give Johnson plenty of opportunities to prove why he’s one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.

The only question with this pick is how long it will take for Johnson to reach his full level of play. He missed all of training camp with a groin injury, and his status for Monday’s season-opener against the Vikings is still up in the air. But if this defense is going to work, Johnson will have to play a major part in its success.

Surprise prediction

Aguilar: Bears will make the playoffs

I can hear Green Bay Packers fans giggling. Pay no attention to them or Micah Parsons as he blows by the Bears’ offensive line. This isn’t the MLB or the NHL. Rebuilds don’t take six years. Johnson will figure this out. We’ve already seen how he’s changed the culture since his hire in January.

The defense has to be healthy, and the quarterback has to take the next step. Left tackle Braxton Jones needs to be good enough and healthy enough. If it all happens, the Bears will have more to celebrate than just the 40th anniversary of the beloved Super Bowl XX champs.

Dwojak: Bears won’t finish last in NFC North

The consensus among NFC North season predictions is that the Bears will finish last in the NFC North. The Green Bay Packers have taken the pole position in the division race after trading for Parsons and are usually followed by the Detroit Lions, the Vikings and the Bears, respectively.

While I think the NFC North will be the best division in the NFL this season, I also think there will be more speed bumps compared to last year. The Lions will have two new coordinators while the Vikings have a rookie quarterback. The Bears have their own changes to get used to, too, but it’s not a certainty they finish last in the division.

Team record

Aguilar: 10-7

There will be upsets. The Bears don’t have to take control of the NFC North and never give it back, as general manager Ryan Poles promised once upon a time. But they have to flash some Burden swagger and show they’re a legitimate player in the division.

Dwojak: 8-9

The Bears will show growth under Johnson this season. They’ll win some games that they would’ve lost last year, and I think there’s a strong chance this team can start the season 3-1.

But there aren’t many layups in this schedule. The Bears’ road schedule that includes games at Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Washington, San Francisco, as well as Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay is no picnic. Home games against division teams, Dallas and Pittsburgh, aren’t much better.

The Bears will win more games this season. But it won’t be enough to make the playoffs.