Chicago Bears: Predictions with week-by-week scenarios for 2020 season

Week 14 — vs. Houston Texans

Houston Texans (5-7) @ Chicago Bears (7-5)
Date: December 13th, 2020 — 12:00pm, CBS
Location: Chicago, IL — Soldier Field

Questions have raised this offseason as to if Bill O’Brien were the worst GM in NFL history, and that’s something I can get behind. But on the strength of a generational talent like Deshaun Watson alone, the Texans should have enough to keep the Texans competitive, and within contention in the AFC South.

Losing DeAndre Hopkins, a perennial top-three wide receiver for quite some time, is certainly going to make life difficult, but they brought in (possibly overpaid) Randall Cobb, and David Johnson via the Hopkins trade, and that accounts for a few wins.

We talked in the previous article about the potential storylines of games to this degree. Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t had much to laugh about, as it relates to the Chicago Bears selecting him No. 2 ahead of Watson and already-all-time-great Patrick Mahomes. Ugh, why did I bring this up? Trubisky can take a small step towards providing us amnesia if he outplays Watson in their first head-to-head matchup, assuming he’s starting.

The Bears will probably remember this week’s drama, of Watson potentially changing his story on if the Bears met with him pre-Draft. If I were a betting man, I’d say Mack, Quinn, Hicks, and company will introduce themselves during this game and keep afloat in what figures to be a tough NFC Playoff race.

Score Prediction: Bears, 22; Texans, 20
Record: 8-5

Rest of NFC North: Packers (9-4) def. Lions (3-10) | Buccaneers (10-3) def. Vikings (7-6)
Bears Standing: No. 2 in NFC North, No. 9 in NFC (behind Eagles, Seahawks and Saints)

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Week 15 — at Minnesota Vikings

Chicago Bears (8-5) @ Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
Date: December 20th, 2020 — 12:00pm, FOX
Location: Minneapolis, MN — U.S. Bank Stadium

With all the cards on the table, it feels somewhat safe trusting the likes of Eddie Jackson and Khalil Mack on defense, as opposed to Adam Thielen and Kirk Cousins on offense. But, where the Bears have created a history of beating the Vikings in the Nagy era (4-0 in total), the Vikings have found a way to win games they’ve had no business winning.

It’s safe to say, there will be some seasons on the line when the Bears and Vikings meet in Week 16. Of the Bears’ ten reporters on NFL.com, only one of them, Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer, has the Bears winning this game.

Throw me in there with Dan.

The Vikings have been great at home, but with the Bears this close, my hunch is that they pull this out. Over his career, Cousins has played worse in December than any other month and has won 13 of 27 in this month.

Look for the Bears to dial it up, and take advantage of the Vikings bringing so many new players. Here, they move to 5-0 in the Nagy Era against the Bears.

Score Prediction: Bears, 13; Vikings, 12
Record: 9-5

Rest of NFC North: Packers (10-4) def. Panthers (3-11), Titans (9-5) def. Lions (3-11)
Bears Standing: No. 2 in NFC North, No. 7 in NFC (behind Seahawks, No. 6)