The winning culture that Ben Johnson is instilling in his first season as Bears coach is reflected in the team's 8-3 record and its perch atop of the NFC North.

"I've talked about this from the beginning, how Chicago's got the right guy in place, just the type of culture he's been able to set from the beginning since he's been here," said veteran safety Kevin Byard III.

"He's been awesome. He's been great for this culture. I don't think we could have [said], 'Hey, we're going to be 8-3 to start this year.' But I just knew just from the process that we had, from the spring up to this point, it's a winning culture and it's a winning process."

For the first time since 2018, the Bears have won seven of eight games, have had two separate four-game winning streaks, and are five games over .500.

Five victories this year have come after the Bears trailed in the final 2:00 of regulation, tied for the most such wins in a season since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970 with the 2011 Broncos and 2016 Lions.

To quarterback Caleb Williams, the biggest difference between this season and his rookie campaign last year is "the belief."

"When you have a certain amount of belief between all three phases—from the players on special teams, defense and offense—that belief becomes contagious," Williams said. "That's something that Ben has provided in us, and the other coaches have provided in us and instilled in us."

Rookie on the rise

One of the teammates that Williams sought out following last Sunday's 31-28 win over the Steelers was rookie Ozzy Trapilo. Making his first NFL start at left tackle in place of the injured Theo Benedet, the second-round pick helped hold a ferocious Pittsburgh pass rush to just one sack and two quarterback hits.

"I gave Ozzy a big old hug after the game and dapped him up just because we went versus a good D-line over there, and that's a tall task to step in and execute the way he did," Williams said.

"We expect that of those guys because everybody here is important for us to go win games. So the expectation was for him to go do that, but it is harder. It's easier said than done. Being able to go out there and execute and protect me—I didn't really feel [any pressure] over there—stepping in for Theo, it was tremendous."

Johnson felt the same way about Trapilo's performance.

"Ozzy did a great job last week," said the Bears coach. "He was a big, big reason why we're able to win that game."

Next man up

Another injury replacement who excelled versus the Steelers was middle linebacker D'Marco Jackson. Filling in for veteran T.J. Edwards, Jackson recorded a career-high and team-leading 15 tackles—more than he totaled in either of his first two NFL seasons.

Jackson was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2022 draft out of Appalachian State. After missing his entire rookie season with an injury, he compiled 12 tackles in 17 games in 2023 and 14 stops in 10 contests in 2024.

During Jackson's three years in New Orleans, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was Saints head coach.

"I've been in the room with him a lot," Allen said. "I know how he works. I know how he prepares, and he prepares himself every week as if he was the starter.

"Last week he knew early in the week that this was going to be the role that he was going to be in, and he had a lot of time to get himself ready and prepare. But you can't do that in one week. You do that throughout the course of the entire season with how you prepare each and every week and how you study the game plan and how you pay attention in the meetings. It's a non-stop process."

Making big strides

Williams' rapport with rookie tight end Colston Loveland is continuing to grow. The No. 10 pick in this year's draft has caught 17 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns in his last four games after having 11 receptions for 116 yards and no TDs in his first six contests.

"He's a safe target," Williams said of the 6-6, 241-pounder. "He's a reliable target and his body language when he's running routes is very similar to a wide receiver. It's very smooth. It speaks to me very easily and I know when he's breaking down, when he's doing what. Then he's also tall and a large human. That makes it a little bit easier to sometimes just maybe toss it up to him."

Home sweet home

Byard returns to his hometown Friday to face the Eagles for the first time since he played 10 games for Philadelphia in 2023 after a midseason trade with the Titans.

The veteran safety joked that he's not expecting a tribute video because he spent only part of one season in Philadelphia, but he's looking forward to the trip.

"It's awesome, it's always good," Byard said. "My family's going to come to the game. My wife is traveling up to the game with the kids, so that's really awesome."

Byard was selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 draft and was in his eighth season with Tennessee when he was dealt to the Eagles Oct. 23, 2023.

"A lot of things were going on in my life," Byard said. "I just had a baby boy two weeks prior. He spent his first five months in the NICU, so there was a lot of stuff going on off the field that was very challenging for me. But ... it was [also] a special moment for my family. For my dad, to be able to see that Byard last name on the Eagles jersey, a team he's rooted for his whole life, was very special."

Injury update

Six Bears did not practice Wednesday due to injuries: Guard Luke Newman (foot); defensive end Dominique Robinson (concussion); linebackers Edwards (hand/hamstring), Noah Sewell (elbow) and Ruben Hyppolite II (shoulder); and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip).

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (hand) was limited.

Full participants included Benedet, running backs Kyle Monangai (knee) and Travis Homer (hamstring/knee) and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (groin) and Kyler Gordon (calf). Johnson and Gordon remain on injured reserve.