Conor Orr· Aug 5, 2026
In his annual game-by-game predictions for the 2026 NFL season, Orr projected the Bears to finish 10-7 and miss the playoffs, while expecting an MVP-caliber season from Caleb Williams.
“An MVP-caliber campaign from Caleb Williams, plus a crusade against Ryan Poles to improve the defense next offseason, feels like a very comfortable and safe landing spot.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.
Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.
Where this call stands in the room
Chicago Bears · 2026 season · wins21 calls from 16 pundits between 3 wins and 12 wins. Conor Orr said 10 wins. the room's median is 10 wins. not settled yet
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
Their call against the room
winsTheir call against everyone else's, while this is still unsettled.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
1 checkable claim in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Season Win TotalsChicago BearsAug 5, 2026
Chicago Bears to finish with 10 wins
“Connor Orr predicted all 272 games of the 2026 NFL season, his annual tradition for Sports Illustrated, and he had the Bears finishing with a 10-7 record.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsMiss · 0Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.
- Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsMiss · 0Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver.
- Tracy SandlerGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick).
- Adam ChudwinGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100In his annual game-by-game Bears prediction, Chudwin went through all 17 games and landed on a 12-5 season for Chicago.
- John BreechGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100A CBS Sports piece predicts the week each NFL team will suffer its first loss, effectively picking winners in each of those games, and names the Ravens as the league's final undefeated team after a 7-0 start.
- Mike MoraitisRoster Spot Calls · Josh BlackwellHit · 100Moraitis names seven Bears as trade candidates before roster cuts, predicting Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills are on the roster bubble and likely to be traded, while Ozzy Trapilo avoids an injured list, and listing several players as locks for the 53-man roster.
More season win totals
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Colin CowherdSeason Win Totals · Dallas CowboysHit · 100Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.
- Richard ShermanSeason Win Totals · Green Bay PackersClose · 40Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking.
- Nick WrightSeason Win Totals · New England PatriotsMiss · 20Nick Wright walked through the Browns' quarterback situation and then gave leans and bets on every AFC team's win total, offering concrete win-count expectations for several clubs plus a call on Brock Bowers.
- John MiddlekauffSeason Win Totals · San Francisco 49ersClose · 60Middlekauff says Denver's floor is ten wins, predicts Miami implodes to four or five wins and a top-three-or-four draft slot with Tyreek Hill traded, thinks the 49ers beat expectations with nine or ten wins, sees the Patriots at eight or nine wins, calls the Chargers over 9.5 a lock, expects Jared Goff to make five or six Pro Bowls, and says the Packers are flying under the radar.
- Colin CowherdSeason Win Totals · New England PatriotsMiss · 0Cowherd takes the Titans over their five-and-a-half win total on the strength of Cam Ward and Brian Callahan, calls New England an eight-to-nine win team, picks Green Bay to win the NFC North, expects the Giants to lose all four games to Washington and Philadelphia, and sketches a quarterback ranking with C.J. Stroud around 10th and Baker Mayfield 11th.
- Nick WrightSeason Win Totals · Denver BroncosMiss · 20Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6.