Welcome to the 2015 Chicago Bears season! Even though we’ve known the opponents for some time, it’s only when the Chicago Bears 2015 schedule is released that the season begins to crystallize. You can start making your travel plans, lay out your excuses to skip work or plan which weekends you might be available for family time because the Bears are on a BYE or play in prime time. We already heard that the Bears will be visiting Green Bay to play the Packers on Thankgiving night, now we learn the rest of the docket.
The Bears are being completely overhauled after a disastrous 5-11 season and the disappointing Marc Trestman era. George McCaskey and Ted Phillips not only gave Marc Trestman the boot after two seasons, but they also ushered GM Phil Emery out after three years, Shea McClellin and countless millions of overspending on Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.
The Bears hired Ryan Pace, a young and up-and-coming GM from the Saint front office. After a lucky break and a disappointing end to the Denver Broncos season, veteran head coach John Fox suddenly became available. Ryan Pace found a perfect head coach for a Chicago Bears team in transition. Marc Trestman all but abandoned the defense, so the Bears were lucky to get John Fox, a noted rebuilder, to head up the re-building effort. To add to the Bears fortunes, John Fox was able to get Vic Fangio after the Niners bungled their head coaching hire.
The Bears play the NFC and AFC West divisions, the last place finishers in the NFC South and NFC East (at Tampa Bay and hosting Washington) along with their traditional NFC North home and away games. The Bears will host the Niners, Cardinals, Broncos, Raiders and Redskins to go with the usual Packers, Lions and Vikings games. On the road, the Bears head to Seattle, St Louis, San Diego, Kansas City and Tampa Bay in addition to the Thanksgiving night game at Green Bay and trips to Detroit and Minnesota.
What do you think of the schedule? I’m a little surprised the Bears only get two prime time games, down significantly from the 4-5 they’ve been averaging over the last few years. Maybe that will be good for them.
The Bears could be looking down the barrel of a 1-3 start with a pair of difficult home games to open the season and a very difficult trip to Seattle before the Raiders come to town. If the Bears can find 4-5 wins before Thanksgiving, I like their chances down the stretch with some seemingly winnable games in December and January. Which games are you most excited for? Tune back in for our full breakdown of the schedule and game-by-game predictions.