A few developments over the last few weeks have put the Chicago Bears in the conversation as one of the NFL's true Super Bowl contenders in 2026.

First, the Bears defeated the reigning AFC champions, the New England Patriots, in Week 7, 30-24.

Then, not only did Chicago acquire Jeffery Simmons in a trade with the Tennessee Titans, they also soundly defeated the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.

Making that win even better was the fact that Simmons wasted no time making an impact with six tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one pass defensed.

Bears already had plenty of respect

The Bears' peers already had a high opinion of them before the Simmons trade.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, an unnamed coach told the NFL insider that he viewed the Bears as an NFC Championship-level team prior to the blockbuster deal.

“There was a conversation I had recently with a coach who had been watching the Bears and had said to me, ‘The Chicago Bears are going to be in the NFC Championship Game. They are one of the best teams in football.’ And he said this to me before the Bears traded for Jeffery Simmons," Schefter said on his podcast.

Schefter then went on to add that the team he watched dismantle the Seahawks on Monday night looked like a Super Bowl contender.

“When I watched that defense last night on Monday night with Jeffery Simmons, it looked even better," he said. "That team looked ferocious. That team looked like what that coach told me. That team looked like it’s good enough to win the Super Bowl. It looked like it’s good enough to be in the NFC Championship Game. It looked like it’s good enough to have one of those great magical seasons in Chicago, which doesn’t mean it will happen.

"There are some really good teams in the NFC, but I am more convinced than ever that the Chicago Bears are going to make a run. They’re going to have a chance, and they’re going to be there in the end, and we’ll see how that works out. But they are, Ty. They’re really good. They’re really good.”

Pre-Simmons trade respect was deserved

There were definitely reasons to be high on the Bears before the Simmons trade.

For starters, the Bears have a great offense led by Caleb Williams, who is clearly ascending to an elite level in his third season. We need not look for more confirmation of that than how well he performed against Seattle's elite defense.

Chicago's defense was also playing better than expected before the Simmons trade, and now they have a true game-wrecker in the middle of that unit in the four-time Pro Bowler, who showed exactly how big of an impact he can make in his first game with the Bears.

And, lest we forget, the Bears weren't even at full strength versus the Seahawks, with the team missing its best cornerback in Malik Muhammad and one of its best pass-rushers in Dayo Odeyingbo, both of whom are injured.

After seeing how well the Bears played over the first seven weeks, it was not hard to understand why general manager Ryan Poles made the decision to go all-in with the trade for Simmons.

And the Bears might not even be done yet on defense.

Trade rumors suggest that the Bears are looking for more help on that side of the ball, including at edge rusher and cornerback, two areas that could use more help, with cornerback being more dire thanks to the struggles of Jaylon Johnson.

With a ton of talent (and possibly more coming) on both sides of the ball and elite coaching, the Bears have a real shot to make serious noise in 2026.