Analyzing the Bears schedule part 2: rough stretch after the bye week
By Adam Childs
The Chicago Bears have an early bye week this year and it comes right before their toughest stretch all year. Can they survive a brutal five-game stretch after their open week?
In part one of analyzing the Chicago Bears schedule we took a look at the five games before their bye week and how a good start could kick start a repeat NFC North title. Now we are going to look at the five games after the bye week, which turn out to be likely the toughest stretch of games for the Bears.
In the five games after their bye, the Bears will take on four playoff teams including the three teams that had the best record in the NFL last year. Throw in a division game against what looks to be an improved Detroit team and it makes for a tough set of games for the Bears.
They come out of the bye and take on New Orleans. The Saints were a very bad no-call away from heading to the Super Bowl last year. The Saints have always been known for their offense and that remains the same, but last year they improved on the defensive side and really made them a tough team to beat. There is a little concern that Drew Brees has finally come back down to Earth as he looked shaky against the Rams in the NFC championship game. But he still is not a guy to bet against. The good news for the Bears is they have them at home, but this will still be a tough game. Chicago will try and pressure Brees, but he is so good at getting rid of the ball that he will be tough to stop.
The Bears welcome the Chargers the next weekend in their second straight home game. It will be the only time all year the Bears will play two games in a row at home.
It will also be the second straight game the Bears play against a veteran quarterback who has had a lot of success in the league. Philip Rivers and his unconventional throwing motion, is coming off an MVP like season last year. He led the Chargers to a 12-4 record and it looks like have the team to be good again this year. The Chargers also have a pretty good defense as they were 9th in the league in total defense last year. Los Angeles won a lot of close games last year, so it should be a tight game.
Week nine features a trip to Philadelphia in a rematch of their first-round playoff game from last year. The Bears will be looking for revenge, while Philadelphia will be hoping that Carson Wentz is still healthy. The Eagles traded away playoff hero Nick Foles, so the backup quarterback is more of a question this year for Philadelphia. If Wentz is healthy the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFC and are even tougher at home. Philadelphia is not an easy place to play and the Eagles feed off of that. They won’t fear the Bears defense and they also have a good defense to shut down the Bears. This will be one of the toughest road games the Bears have all year.
The Bears finally play a non-playoff team in the Detroit Lions in week 10, but to think it will be easy game would be a big mistake. First-year head coach Matt Patricia looked lost and so did the Lions last year at times, but they still won some big games, including sweeping the Packers and upsetting the Patriots. They also played the Bears close in Detroit last year and Matthew Stafford is capable of having a big game each week. This game on paper is the easiest of the five, but a division battle is always going to be tough.
The end of the five-game stretch is a trip to Los Angeles to take on defending NFC champ Rams in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The Bears defense completely dominated the high-powered Rams offense in week 14 last year, beating them 15-6. Besides the forgettable Super Bowl, the Bears were the only team to shut down the Rams offense last year. But this year the game is in Los Angeles and the weather will be better. The Bears used the cold to their advantage last year and it showed. Some think the Rams are ripe for a regression this year and can Jared Goff continue his great play? Either way, the Rams still have Aaron Donald on the defensive side and he will continue to be a force.
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The first five games of the year will seem like a breeze compared to this group of games. While we talked about the Bears hoping to be 4-1 or 5-0 before the bye, I think it is realistic to be happy with a 3-2 record during this stretch. Even going 2-3 during this stretch shouldn’t kill them but they can’t go 1-4 or 0-5.
This looks like easily the toughest stretch of the schedule for the Bears next year. The good thing is the Bears get three of the games at home, but it will still be tough for them to make it through. The Bears may like the week 6 bye, but it would be better served in the middle of this stretch.
Win or lose we are going to learn a lot about the Bears by week 11. If they can get through this week 7-3 or 8-2 and they will be on top of the NFC. Come through it at .500 and they will be fighting for their playoff lives.