The Chicago Bears 2022 Schedule Is Released
The NFL released their schedules this afternoon. The Chicago Bears, for the 100,000 time, will finish the season against the Minnesota Vikings. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of facing them at the end of the season. Does the NFL believe that either the Vikings or the Bears will be battling for second place and a potential playoff spot?
With all of the draft pundits out there claiming that the team messed up by not drafting for Justin Fields, early claims are that the Bears had one of the worst drafts this season. Why would the schedule makers believe that the Bears could finish between second or third in the division?
The NFL people who deal with the strength of schedule and creating the schedule try to create a competitive schedule based on where the team was last season. The division rank makes a considerable difference for who teams play, but the order is calculated much differently.
Week One: 49ers
Two: at GB SNF
Three: Texans
Four: at NYG
Five: at Vikings
Six: Commanders TNF (Oct 13)
Seven: at Patriots MNF
Eight: at Cowboys (Oct 30)
Nine: Dolphins
Ten: Lions
11: at Falcons
12: at Jets
13: Packers (Dec 4)
14: BYE
15: Eagles
16: Bills (Xmas Eve)
17: at Lions
18: Vikings
The Chicago Bears Could Do Better Than Last Year
There are a few spots where you can see how the Bears could go on a run—weeks two and three and weeks nine through 12. I am not counting anybody out, but those are some of the “easier” groups that this team will face pending health.
Jacob Infante predicts the Bears winning six games. I see eight if they split with the Vikings. Justin Fields was 2-8 in games he started. He had three wins in games he touched the field. No offense to Matty Nagy and his lousy offense, but when your head coach won’t sit down with the quarterback or the star receiver and figure things out, what makes anybody think he even tried for Fields?
Damn, the whole second-year break-out that we all are hoping for from Fields. Better coaching alone should help the entire team win more games than they did last season. I know the Bears didn’t focus on building around Fields, but we saw a terrible Nagy, Trubisky, second pass catcher, and defense win eight games.
Even with Mooney leading in receiving (800 yards), I would assume that would still net the Bears seven to eight wins. Even Josh Allen and that high-scoring offense weren’t enough to win every game possible. Let’s not forget Mac Jones won a game on three pass attempts.