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The Chicago Bears had an incredible season last year and made it to the top spot in the NFC North. It was a beautiful thing for the Windy City. Plus, it happened in head coach Ben Johnson's very first year with the team, which made the showing that much sweeter. Nobody expected the Bears to be as good as they were last season. But it didn't take long at all for Johnson to turn this team around. Now, the pressure is actually off, not on, according to an NFL expert. It's because Johnson and the Bears are already exceeding expectations so much that they don't have much to make them sweat. On Wednesday, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report released a feature ranking each of the NFL teams on a "panic meter" heading into the new season. Chicago Bears' panic meter is only at 3/10 The Bears only have a panic meter of 3/10. That's very cool. "They definitely want to see more progress from Caleb Williams under Ben Johnson, but nobody is calling for this to be blown up if they run into some growing pains in a stacked division," he says. Frankly, though, Johnson won't be happy if there are still "growing pains" in this franchise. You know that he has lofty goals and wants to see the Bears winning the big game sooner rather than later. The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, have a panic meter of 10/10, according to Gagnon, so they're absolutely under pressure to turn things around, and fast. More NFL news: - Steelers, Aaron Rodgers get good news after concerning projection - Jerry Jones should feel great about latest Cowboys hype - Lions have more reason to believe this season will be different - Colts' Daniel Jones could be without one of his top targets to start 2026