Predictions, Analysis on new 2020 Bears schedule |
When the sports world was in dire need for stories, debates, information, and news, the NFL came through again. First was the massive success of the 2020 NFL Draft online, and this time around was the NFL schedule being released.
Sidenote, it is still unknown whether or not football will be played in 2020 due to the global pandemic, but as the NFL plans to reopen facilities soon and progress through the offseason as if the season will start on time, dropping the schedules was an important step. The Bears have a third-place schedule, meaning it will, in theory, be a lighter schedule in terms of their opponents compared to last season, where they had a first-place schedule. The Bears open the year against the Lions in Detroit, a game that the Bears should win regardless of who is playing quarterback for them. The Bears have been extremely good against the Lions in prior seasons, sweeping the Lions in each of the last two years. Week two, the Bears take on the New York Giants in the home opener. While the Giants are without a doubt on the come up, they are not quite there yet. The Bears should still have the upper hand in this contest, which would have them off to a solid 2-0 start. Week five is one that Bears fans will have on their radar all season long. The Bears will get their first glance at the new-look Bucs, with Tom Brady coming to Soldier Field for the first time since 2018. That game will be on Thursday Night Football, a tough game for the Bears to win against Tom Brady — but if any defense can do it, it may be the Bears. In terms of the primetime contests, the Bears are scheduled to appear on Monday Night Football twice. The first will be at the Los Angeles Rams in week seven, a game I think the Bears should win considering the Rams have gone through a bit of a roster dump this offseason. The second appearance on Monday Night Field will be against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in Week 10. Like the Lions, the Bears have swept the Vikings in each of the last two seasons, and although they are much improved — I think the Bears win this one as well. The Bears do have one more primetime contest, that is at Green Bay on Sunday Night Football the week of Thanksgiving in week 12. This is pretty late for the Bears' first meeting of the year against the Packers, but that game will certainly be fun to watch. In terms of divisions, the Bears play the AFC South and the NFC South. The Bears will get a look at the Colts, Titans, Jaguars (Nick Foles' former team), and the Deshaun Watson led Texans, who many Bears fans remember was drafted after Mitch Trubisky. The Bears will also take on the Saints, Falcons, Panthers, and as mentioned above, Buccaneers. They also play the teams in the NFC North twice and the third-place finishers of both the NFC East and NFC West, that being the Giants and Rams. After looking at the schedule, I think the Bears are looking somewhere between nine and eleven wins. As they have improved an already top-five defense, addressed the issue at tight end and improved at quarterback, as well as undergoing various coaching changes to aid both the development of quarterbacks, the play of the offensive line, and the fluency of the offense altogether. Hoping football does get played, on time and according to schedule — Bears fans should be excited for the season ahead. My final prediction: The Bears go 10-6, and with the additional seventh team in the playoffs for each conference, that should be enough to make the postseason for the second time in three years. Here's a look at the complete 2020 Bears schedule: Week 1: Bears at Lions (noon) Week 2: Giants at Bears (noon) Week 3: Bears at Falcons (noon) Week 4: Colts at Bears (noon) Week 5: Buccaneers at Bears (Thursday Night Football) Week 6: Bears at Panthers (noon) Week 7: Bears at Rams (Monday Night Football) Week 8: Saints at Bears (3:25 pm) Week 9: Bears at Titans (noon) Week 10: Vikings at Bears (Monday Night Football) Week 11: Bye Week 12: Bears at Packers (Sunday Night Football) Week 13: Lions at Bears (noon) Week 14: Texans at Bears (noon) Week 15: Bears at Vikings (noon) Week 16: Bears at Jaguars (noon) Week 17: Packers at Bears (noon) *All times central
