Although the 2021 NFL schedule has not yet been released, all of the matchups are known beforehand. While it can be difficult to accurately predict the outcome or even the hype behind these matches, there are always games to look forward to, particularly those involving divisional rivals.
The addition of Justin Fields especially excites me. Fields is an incredible quarterback and he brings a sense of pride in being a Bears fan and sportswriter — a gleam of hope on an otherwise darkened horizon. His presence alone should make the beginning of the 2021 NFL season more interesting.
Don’t get me wrong, the additions of Andy Dalton, Damien Williams, and Desmond Trufant are all exciting and make me (and others) hopeful for the 2021 season. Our past disappointments, however, were not in the Bears’ defense or running game. They laid within the area that has plagued the Bears for almost four decades — the quarterback room.
Jay Culter was, of course, an underappreciated quarterback, and Mitchell Trubisky deserves a small measure of respect. Yet neither were the answer to the Bears’ problems. Neither of the two put up above-average numbers, and they did not seem to fit in with their respective systems.
Fields, on the other hand, is a generational quarterback who should have an immediate impact on the Bears team as a whole. This impact alone should give many Bears fans cause to celebrate and anticipate the 2021 season as a whole.
To help build the hype, here are four hand-picked games for you to mark on your calendars. These four regular-season matchups promise to be entertaining, with delicious irony and interesting storylines to punctuate your Sunday afternoons.