The Chicago Bears' 2025 season recently came to a bitter end with an overtime home loss against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. While Caleb Williams was able to pull another rabbit out of the hat to get this game into the extra period, the Bears ultimately lost when they got there, thanks to a crucial interception.
The Bears earned the nickname “Cardiac Bears” this year due to their propensity to win close games in epic fashion, but recently, general manager Ryan Poles spoke on why he doesn't want that to become a theme for the franchise moving forward.
“I don’t think you can be satisfied. I heard the whole Cardiac Bears thing. I’d rather not be the Cardiac Bears. … What you can take from this season is we were able to have poise down the stretch of games, poise to finish, and guys made plays when they needed to be made. I don’t think you should ever shy away from those characteristics,” said Poles, per Chris Emma of 670 The Score on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, the Bears likely do not want to have to rely on pulling off miraculous comebacks on a consistent basis, considering that the rules of variance would indicate that all of those results will not necessarily continue to go their way.
Last year, the Washington Commanders made a habit out of winning thrilling games, including one against the Bears on a Hail Mary, but came crashing back down to Earth this year, not even sniffing the playoffs in 2025, which is a fate that Chicago fans will certainly want to avoid next season.
Still, as Poles mentioned, the Bears' ability to win close games and perform in crunch time isn't a bad thing by any means, but relying on it is not a formula for long-term success in the Windy City.
