Overreaction Monday: San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears
By Dakota Wayne
Chicago Bears Week 1 Overreaction No. 3: The Bears are a playoff team
After watching the Chicago Bears play the way they did on Sunday, the thought came to me that this Chicago Bears team could truly be a playoff contender from the NFC.
As it sits right now, the Bears could absolutely place second in the NFC North behind Minnesota, while Green Bay and Detroit tussle for third and fourth.
That being said, the NFC is a rather weak conference, especially compared to the AFC.
Once an NFC team makes the playoffs, it’s a lot more open, and anything can happen. Once a team in the NFC makes the playoffs, they have a genuine chance of making it to the Super Bowl.
Now, even saying the Bears are going to the Super Bowl would be a bit much of an overreaction for me, but to say this Bears team can make the playoffs is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
Per CBS Sports, the Chicago Bears are tied for the 24th hardest schedule in the league. Their opponents’ combined 2021 record was 135-152-2, and their opponents’ combined 2021 win percentage was .471 or 47.1%.
Now, just because a team was bad last season doesn’t mean they’ll be bad this season, but there are a handful of opponents that— if the game was played on paper— the Bears would win nine out of ten times.
Next. These three Chicago Bears players were studs in Week 1 vs. 49ers. dark
Based off last year’s records, the Chicago Bears play nine games against teams that ended the season below .500: The Houston Texans, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings (play twice), Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions (play twice), Atlanta Falcons, and the New York Jets.
And Week 1 wasn’t even one of those games!
So, while it could certainly be an overreaction after a sloppy first game, it’s entirely possible that the Chicago Bears play in a playoff game this post season.