We’ve seen this movie before. A young quarterback who likes to use his legs to make plays is gifted a star wide receiver that helps him take the next step in his game. Coming off a 3-14 season, this was a necessity for the Bears, especially after trading away the first overall pick in the draft. In order to silence the questions of whether the Chicago Bears should have taken a quarterback, this team must be more competitive. The Chicago Bears schedule has dropped and now the honeymoon stage is over: time for results.
Chicago Bears Record Prediction: Every Game On The Schedule
Week 1: v Green Bay Packers @ 3:25 PM
It feels odd still referring to this as a rivalry when in recent memory it has been the Green Bay Packers who have consistently gotten the better of the Bears. Whether it is the Rodgers “my knee!” game or the “I own you”, Chicago has taken their bruises as of late. Things are different without Rodgers in the equation. Quarterback Jordan Love enters the season as one of the biggest question marks in the league. The chemistry this Bears team already has together will give them a slight edge over this Packer team. Justin Fields leads the Bears to their first victory on the Pack since 2018.
Bears Win, 1-0 Record
Week 2: @ Tampa Bay Bucs @ 12 PM
This team will show its youth after getting the monkey off its back in Week 1. While no one is picking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as contenders in the NFC, they have a talented roster top to bottom. To take advantage of a weak division they will have to start fast, and they will catch Chicago asleep at the wheel. Perhaps Baker Mayfield is who makes people think they can dismiss this team, but if he can fall into a similar role that Jimmy Garoppolo did with the San Francisco 49ers, this Bucs team could be dangerous. Bears begin the tough part of their schedule with a loss here.
Bears Lose, 1-1 Record
Week 3: @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 3:25 PM
Chicago may be ready to take the next step this year, but they are nowhere near contender level. The reigning Super Bowl champions will take full advantage of this defense, which will still be trying to gel together at this early juncture. The Kansas City Chiefs will not miss a beat coming into this season, and will likely be toying with their competition early in the season in order to sort through their receiver room. This game will likely be the reason the Bears add a pass rusher in the following off-season as Mahomes will have all day to throw. Bears continue to stumble through the early part of their schedule.
Bears Lose, 1-2 Record
Week 4: v Denver Broncos @ 12 PM
This Denver Broncos team was unwatchable last season, it can only be better from here. Russell Wilson is at a strange part in his career now, meaning he may have to adapt his playstyle. Denver’s saving grace, however, comes in the form of new head coach Sean Payton. For over a decade, Payton has had the Bears number. The AFC West is the Chiefs kingdom, but look for Payton to cook up a way to rattle off some early wins to help put this Broncos team in position for a Wild Card push later in the season. This will feel like the lowest part of the Bears season as they lose their third straight.
Bears Lose, 1-3 Record
Week 5: @ Washington Commanders @ 7:15 PM (TNF)
Remember last season when everything clicked for the Bears in primetime against the New England Patriots? This will be that game this season. While the offensive line has had some significant improvements with Darnell Wright, Nate Davis, and shuffling Teven Jenkins around, this will start out as a battle for Fields. Eventually he will come to the realization that he needs to make magic happen when structure breaks down, and that will give this team a spark. Washington’s defensive line will continue to crash down, only to find Fields sixty yards down the field in the endzone. This Washington Commanders team is almost as intriguing as the Packers, with Sam Howell under center, Eric Bienemy calling plays, and Chase Young in a prove-it year. Fields will put the team on his back and stop the losing. Bears get a key win here in primetime.
Bears Win, 2-3 Record
Week 6: v Minnesota Vikings @ 12 PM
Again, after a big win this team will likely get caught with their pants down. While the Vikings desperately needed to address their defense in the off-season, the offensive firepower they have now is simply scary. On top of that, with every day that passes, it seems less and less likely that Dalvin Cook will be traded. This Minnesota Vikings team won the north last season will likely be firing on all cylinders coming out the gate, tired of hearing all the praise that has been heaped upon Detroit. Chicago will likely be put in a hole early, and have a difficult time finding their way out of it. As the Vikings have taken five of the last six matchups, they will add this one too.
Bears Lose, 2-4 Record
Week 7: v Las Vegas Raiders @ 12 PM
Even if Jimmy Garoppolo proves to not be as fragile as he has been before (and is still playing by Week 7), it should not make much of a difference. This Las Vegas Raiders team will likely find themselves at the bottom of the AFC West this season in true Josh McDaniels fashion. We have seen McDaniels fail before. We have also seen the ‘Patriot way’ fail before, with Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. They have an extremely talented roster but, with the off-season shake up of ugly break-ups with Derek Carr and Darren Waller, their players will be far from inspired to give that extra to win. Fields will likely leave the pass rush in his dust, dragging Chicago to another win.
Bears Win, 3-4 Record
Week 8: @ Los Angeles Charges @ 7:20 PM (SNF)
The Los Angeles Chargers are a difficult team to figure out. For the past couple years, it feels they have been overrated with how much praise they receive and for how little they actually produce. Not to go as far as some and say they are a social media team, but the Chargers are beginning to feel a little like ‘all sizzle, no bacon’. That being said, they have some of the best talent in the entire NFL. They could easily boat race this young Bears squad into submission early. With tall receivers on the outside who can go up and get jump balls, the Chicago defense may simply lose hope and momentum after losing multiple contested catches. Justin Herbert looks to stay hot on Patrick Mahomes’ heels, handing this Bears team their fifth loss of the season, in primetime.
Bears Lose, 3-5 Record
Week 9: @ New Orleans Saints @ 12 PM
The Bears have failed to beat the New Orleans Saints since 2008, so what makes this time different? No Sean Payton. This Saints team will face a Bears squad in desperation mode, with their backs against the wall. Since Drew Brees retired, New Orleans has felt like it lacks an identity. Carr may give them the most stability they have had at the quarterback position since Brees. But it still is not much. The Saints defense has fallen far from the one that brought them to the NFC title game years ago. Meanwhile, this Bears team is vastly different to the one that lost to the Saints in the Wild Card round a few years ago. As such, the outcome will be different. Bears inch closer to .500 in the middle part of the schedule.
Bears Win, 4-5 Record
Week 10: v Carolina Panthers @ 7:15 PM (TNF)
This game is a standalone contest. The stakes are high for both sides involved in the blockbuster trade for the first overall pick. Bryce Young and Fields will both be looking to solidify themselves as the right decision for their respective teams, as both were essentially overlooked by the opposition. Former Carolina Panther, D.J. Moore, however, will steal the show. An underrated receiver throughout his entire career, playing with multiple sub-par quarterbacks in Carolina, now gets a chance to burn his old team. While different scenarios, think of what A.J. Brown did to the Titans last season, and double it. Bears win in convincing fashion, looking to gain steam heading towards their divisional matchups.
Bears Win, 5-5 Record
Week 11: @ Detroit Lions @ 12 PM
The Bears will get a taste of their own medicine after having benefited largely from the D.J. Moore revenge game. David Montgomery will have this game circled on his calendar the entire off-season. He will look to burn the Bears for not paying him what he felt he was worth. The Detroit Lions will also be back at full strength and be a force to be reckoned with offensively. While the Lions and Bears generally split their matchups they will look to continue their trend here with Dan Campbell and Jared Goff taking the first of the matchups.
Bears Lose, 5-6 Record
Week 12: @ Minnesota Vikings @ 7:15 PM (MNF)
The difference in this Bears team will be palpable in just six weeks time. Going from a losing streak to a position of strength will expose the Vikings’ weakness against competent teams. All off-season the talk of the Vikings was that of getting a quarterback, and yet they ended up drafting a player at a skill position. They had a desperate need for defense that they are banking on Brain Flores to fix. In the past two seasons they have lost Anthony Barr, Patrick Peterson and Eric Kendricks. Now, Za’Darius Smith also wants out. Without truly addressing their needs, the defense will continue to be the Achilles heel of this Vikings team. Fields brings this Bears team back to .500 heading into the bye.
Bears Win, 6-6 Record
Week 13: -BYE-
Week 14: v Detroit Lions @ 12 PM
The Lions have had the most hype of arguably any team in recent memory that failed to make the playoffs fully healthy. Goff had a tremendous year in 2022, but the majority of career leads most to believe that he was playing over his head. His numbers were also inflated due to a lackluster defense that allowed an insane number of points every single game. While Detroit have made some moves in the off-season to address this deficiency, it may not be enough. The Bears continue to make this series an even split (as they have over the past six matchups) making the push over .500 in Week 14.
Bears Win, 7-6 Record
Week 15: @ Cleveland Browns (TBD)
For as big of a contract as he received, Deshaun Watson needs to gel with this offense. And fast. Last season was a disaster by every measure for the Cleveland Browns, and now they look to be sinking fast in a division that continues to improve. The defense and running game are the things this team likes to hang their hat on, but that will have them buried alive in the AFC North. Hopefully, for Watson and the Browns’ sakes, Cleveland begin to show progress by this time. However, if last season was any indicator, one should not count on it. Look for them to get blown out of the water by a surging Bears team.
Bears Win, 8-6 Record
Week 16: v Arizona Cardinals @ 3:25 PM
It is very difficult to find what was previously exciting about this Arizona Cardinals team. Kliff Kingsbury is gone, and DeAndre Hopkins and Budda Baker want out. Kyler Murray’s relationship with the team seems to be growing more and more static. New head coach Jonathan Gannon going around the building doing his best Kendall Roy impression signals dumpster fire. As it is unclear when Murray will be back at full health, the expectations for this team are low as they are clearly a basement-dweller without him. Bears use this as an opportunity to stack another win for the later part of the schedule.
Bears Win, 9-6 Record
Week 17: v Atlanta Falcons @ 12 PM
Desmond Ridder should not scare you, even remotely, but Bijan Robinson is terrifying. Atlanta Falcons coach, Arthur Smith, has proven how dangerous he can make an offense with a star running back like Derrick Henry, and even through his usage of Cordarrelle Patterson. In Robinson, Smith gets a young player without any tread on the tire. This may seem like an easy Falcons win upon first looking at the schedule, but look for Fields and Robinson to trade chunk play for chunk play. It could come down to the wire, especially with the additions made to the Falcons defense, but look for the Bears to sneak away with this one.
Bears Win, 10-6 Record
Week 18: @ Green Bay Packers (TBD)
This is a game that even if the Bears absolutely need to get in, they probably lose. Green Bay has built a stout defense and has continued to quietly add to it. They have one of the best running backs in the league. They drafted a plethora of offensive talent in Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave, and Tucker Kraft. On top of that, they have Romeo Doubs, who flashed at times last season, and Christian Watson, who had a ‘diet Randy Moss’ rookie year. Love would have to play pretty miserably to not have this group competitive towards the end of the season. Bears may have gotten a win earlier in the season, but the Packers prevent a sweep here.
Bears Lose, 10-7 Record
Main Photo: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
