No matter the team, when the 2025 NFL Schedule is released, the fan base instantly plots the path to the playoffs.
It's an exercise that Chicago Bears fans are no strangers to. Over the last three years, the Bears have "won the offseason", and that has led to the team being among the worst teams in the NFL. The Bears, with Ben Johnson as their head coach, appear to be in the right direction. A free-agent period where the focus was on improving the offensive line has lent credence to the idea that the Bears could be a playoff team in 2025.
The official release of the Bears' 2025 schedule has only confirmed the belief that the team could have instant success under their first-year head coach.
That belief now extends to the technological advancements in 2025. Using AI, NFL GameDay predicted the playoff teams for the 2025 season, and the Bears made an appearance.
We're going to be honest, the shocking part isn't even the fact that the Bears made the playoffs. The shocking part is that AI does not believe the Detroit Lions will be making the playoffs in 2025. Perhaps that explains why the Lions are so adamant about having the playoff seeding changed. Speaking as Bears fans, we are absolutely here for the idea that the Bears will make the playoffs and the Lions won't. However, where these predictions lose us is that the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons will be playoff teams in 2025. That is all the confirmation you need of why the teams should actually play these games, and not leave their fates up to technology.
A playoff game against the Cardinals, however, would allow the Bears to correct one of their most egregious failures of the 2024 season. Following their heartbreaking loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8, the Bears fell flat against the Cardinals to the tune of a 29-9 loss. It was at that moment that it became clear that Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron were not the answer for the Bears' coaching staff.