A new regime means a fresh start for Chicago Bears players and fresh expectations for the organization. However, a rebuilding roster has not inspired confidence in many beyond the walls of Halas Hall. As part of Last Word on Pro Football’s schedule analysis series, let’s sort out which contests figure to be the easiest (chance to steal a win) and which are the toughest.
We begin with the latter category but you can find the easiest games here.
Most Difficult Games on the Chicago Bears 2022 Schedule
1. Week 2 @ Green Bay Packers (Sunday Night Football)
A head-to-head with your oldest and by far most fearsome rival on the road in primetime in the second week of the season? Welcome to the rivalry, Matt Eberflus. While Green Bay will look very different thanks to the offseason trade, they do still roster Aaron Rodgers and a 22-5 record against the Bears with him. The last loss came in Week 14 of 2018 in former head coach Matt Nagy’s first season. Perhaps that same unknown factor can work in Ebeflus and Co.’s favor but the Chicago Bears Schedule.
2. Week 1 vs San Francisco 49ers
The Bears could be in danger of starting 0-2 with a loss in Week 2 because their Week 1 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, went all the way to the NFC Championship Game last season. They lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams; nothing to hang their head about. Kyle Shanahan’s bunch also beat the Bears 33-22 in Week 8 last season. The 49ers sacked Justin Fields four times in that game.
3. Week 7 @ New England Patriots (Monday Night Football)
Chicago has only faced the New England Patriots five times since 2000. But they are 0-5 with the last meeting also coming in 2018. Tom Brady was under center for those Patriots teams. And, while Mac Jones is not Brady, he is a heady quarterback who rarely makes the mistake that gets his team beat. This could make it difficult for a young Bears secondary that figures to aggressively go for turnovers to get a win on Monday Night Football.
4. Week 16 vs Buffalo Bills
The last time the Buffalo Bills visited Chicago was in the preseason last year. They won 41-15 behind an inspired effort from former Bears quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky. He is now in Pittsburgh and these two teams have not met in the regular season since 2018. Still, they are a Super Bowl hopeful with Josh Allen under center even with Brian Daboll now with the New York Giants.
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5. Week 13 vs Green Bay
Most of the things that applied to the Week 2 matchup apply here. The biggest difference is the venue but that has not mattered much in a while. Both teams will be on bye the following week. Maybe the Bears can catch the Packers thinking about R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G? Otherwise, this game figures to go the way of the previous seven (by this point) matchups.
6. Week 5 @ Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins is just 3-4 against the Bears as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback. But he has won three of the last four matchups including both meetings last season. He has thrown nine touchdowns to just three interceptions in that span. He has fumbled in three of those four matchups but did not lose any of them. Justin Jefferson has gone for 100-plus yards in three of four career games versus the Bears.
7. Week 8 @ Dallas Cowboys
Wide receiver Amari Cooper is now in Cleveland but the Dallas Cowboys still have Dak Prescott throwing to CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup with a two-headed rushing attack of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. They also ranked seventh in scoring defense last season and this game will be one of five road games in the first eight contests on the Bears’ schedule.
8. Week 15 vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are what the Bears want to be in many ways. The Bears are transitioning to a run-heavy scheme to take pressure off of Fields much like Philly did with Jalen Hurts last season on their way to a playoff berth. After adding wide receiver A.J. Brown to go with last year’s 10th-overall pick, DeVonta Smith, they look more formidable.
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