Everybody within the Chicago Bears' fan base understands that the first month of the regular season might not be perfect, but how bad could it get?
Bleacher Report writer Brad Gagnon examined every team's biggest problem entering Week 1 of the regular season. The Bears have to experience growing pains with the team as they try to take down their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. Gagnon does warn that the start of the year could get pretty ugly.
"Second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is working within a new system, for a new head coach and behind an entirely new interior offensive line. That's a lot of change for a guy who struggled quite a bit as a rookie and faces plenty of pressure to get it together early this season.
That being the case, it's far from ideal that Chicago even had lingering questions about the left tackle position late this summer, and that the team has to play the daunting Vikings out of the gate.
Outlook: At least they're at home Monday night against Minnesota, but it's still a tall task. That's made worse by the fact that they then travel to Detroit on somewhat short rest before hosting Dallas in Week 3. The Bears have plenty of talent but could easily start 0-3."
How can Chicago avoid that dreaded 0-3 start to the season?
The Bears face multiple challenges in the first three games of the season, with two of them being division rivals: the Vikings and Detroit Lions. Chicago's Week 3 match is against the Dallas Cowboys, who looked like a competitive football team after losing to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles by four points Thursday night.
All are winnable games, though. Minnesota is rolling out a first-time starter at quarterback without Jordan Addison in the game. Detroit lost both of its coordinators, including Ben Johnson, who now leads the Bears as head coach. The Cowboys are still unlikely to make the postseason after trading their star defensive player, Micah Parsons.
There's always going to be a learning curve as the Bears fan base has gone through it over the last few months. Training camp featured pre-snap issues and inconsistencies with Williams. The Bears were able to turn that into a 2-0-1 record in the preseason with a promising glimpse into what's to come.
Read more: Ben Johnson says the quiet part out loud about Bears' potential on offense
It won't be easy, but to start 0-3 seems like a stretch for a team that is loaded with talent. Johnson and the Bears will look to surprise the rest of the NFL with a strong start to the regular season.