CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears find themselves in unfamiliar territory in sole possession of the NFC North lead and staring down at the rest of the division.
The Bears (7-3) have won seven of eight after squeezing past the Minnesota Vikings 19-17 to pull out yet another down-to-the-wire game, and they're looking more and more like a team that could be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 even if they're not making it easy on themselves.
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Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright (26), left, intercepts a pass intended for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts after throwing an incomplete pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18), right, looks to pass as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson (55) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson stands on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Just don't mention the postseason possibility to coach Ben Johnson.
“We’re way far away from that," he said Monday. "I haven’t even been thinking about that. We’re still in the third quarter of the season. That’s really where we’re focused on. We set goals once we hit the halfway mark and once we make it through the three-quarter mark, then we’ll start shifting our focus. We’re in a good spot right now for where we want to be this quarter of the season and we’ve got a tough opponent coming to town here on Sunday.”
The Bears hold a slim lead in the division over Green Bay (6-3-1), with Detroit (6-4) one game out of first place and Minnesota (4-6) at the bottom. They host AFC North leader Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Five of the past seven games have been decided by five points or fewer, with Chicago winning each of those five contests. This season, the Bears are 3-0 in games decided by two points or fewer and 5-1 when the margin is five or less.
Takeaways. Chicago leads the NFL with 22 takeaways and a minus-16 turnover margin after intercepting J.J. McCarthy twice.
Kevin Byard had one, giving him a league-best five picks this season, and Nahshon Wright delivered the other when he made a highlight-reel grab in the corner of the end zone. He leaped to pick off a fade intended for Jordan Addison and landed on his back.
The Bears have three of the league's top four leaders in interceptions, with Byard at the top and Wright and Tremaine Edmunds tied for second with Jacksonville's Devin Lloyd with four.
Caleb Williams' accuracy. Though he set a franchise single-season record with his league-leading fifth comeback, Williams had a shaky outing. He was 16 for 32 for 193 and again missed several potential big plays.
“It’s something we’re going to continue to work on,” Johnson said. “That stuff doesn’t just happen overnight. That’s a work in progress. And that’s been the case everywhere I’ve been so I’m not concerned about that at all."
Through Sunday, Williams ranked 27th among qualifying leaders in the NFL in completion percentage at 59.7 and was one of just four below 60%.
Return specialist Devin Duvernay. A former All-Pro, Duvernay had his biggest moment with the Bears. The Vikings had just scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds remaining when he returned the kickoff 56 yards, setting up a 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos as time expired.
A third-round draft pick by Baltimore out of Texas in 2020, Duvernay played four seasons with the Ravens. He was first-team All-Pro in 2021 and made the Pro Bowl again the following year. Duvernay spent last season in Jacksonville before signing with the Bears.
WR DJ Moore. The Bears need more from Moore, who had one catch for 18 yards while being targeted three times and carried once for 3 yards. He was wide open on a dropped pass and even bobbled the ball he caught. Moore is second on the Bears with 421 yards receiving and third in receptions with 31.
CB Tyrique Stevenson (hip/calf) was injured in a collision with S Jaquan Brisker late in the third quarter. He returned briefly before exiting the game.
73 — The Bears ran 73 plays compared to the Vikings' 54, leading to about a 14-minute advantage in time of possession — 36:59 to 23:01.
The Bears host Pittsburgh on Sunday, though it wasn't clear if they'll face old nemesis Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph. Rodgers, who is 25-5 against Chicago counting the playoffs, missed the second half of the Steelers' win over Cincinnati because of a left wrist injury.
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Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright (26), left, intercepts a pass intended for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts after throwing an incomplete pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18), right, looks to pass as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson (55) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson stands on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.
This year's recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.
Trump said they are a group of “incredible people” who represent the “very best in American arts and culture” and that, “I know most of them and I've been a fan of all of them.”
“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” said a tuxedo-clad Trump. "This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”
Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican has instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman of the board.
Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and has vowed to overhaul both.
The president placed around each honoree's neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.
It's a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center's image and rainbow colors. The honoree's name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree's shoulders and chest and had been used since the first honors program in 1978.
Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was first to receive his medal. When the country singer started to take off the hat, Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through.” But Strait took it off.
The president said Crawford was a “great star of Broadway” for his lead role in the long-running “Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We have the disco queen, and she was indeed, and nobody did it like Gloria Gaynor.”
Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars” and "one of the great legends."
Kiss is an “incredible rock band," he said.
Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby for Trump to begin the ceremony.
The president president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.
It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.
“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries."
“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump said.
Trump also attended an annual State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday. In years past, the honorees received their medallions there but Trump moved the ceremony to the White House.
Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
The president said in August that he had agreed to host the show, and he seemed to confirm on Saturday that he would do so, predicting that the broadcast would garner its highest ratings ever as a result. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host.
He said he looked forward to Sunday's celebration.
“It’s going to be something that I believe, and I’m going to make a prediction: this will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done and they’ve gotten some pretty good ratings, but there’s nothing like what’s going to happen tomorrow night,” Trump said.
The president also swiped at late-night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose program was briefly suspended earlier this year by ABC following criticism of his comments related to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.
Kimmel and Trump are sharp critics of each other, with the president regularly deriding Kimmel's talent as a host. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Academy Award multiple times.
Trump said he should be able to outdo Kimmel.
“I've watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” Trump said. “If I can't beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don't think I should be president.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a Kennedy Center Honors reception for recipients Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford at the State Department, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents Sylvester Stallone with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents Michael Crawford with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents George Strait with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - The Hall of Nations at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, file)
Kiss band member Gene Simmons speaks to members of the media at the White House, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
President Donald Trump speaks before a concert by Andrea Bocelli in the East Room of the White House walking towards the East Room, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
