The NFL is slated to release the 2020 schedule Thursday night — the Chicago Bears will reveal theirs at 6:30 p.m. CT — which means we’ll soon learn exactly when the Bears will be playing their 2020 opponents.
In addition to facing their NFC North foes, the Bears will also play the AFC South and NFC South this season, which present some interesting opponents with plenty of storylines for Chicago this season.
Here are the Bears’ most intriguing opponents of 2020:
Green Bay Packers
There’s always one opponent that a team needs to overcome in order to ultimately become champions — or take the next step. For the Bears, that’s the Packers, who Chicago has only beaten four of the last 20 times they’ve faced each other in the last decade.
After getting swept by the Packers in disappointing fashion last season, the Bears need to prove they can beat Green Bay if they have any hope of climbing back to the top of the NFC North. And for fans’ sanity, Chicago needs to come away from this season with at least one victory over Green Bay. And with the Aaron Rodgers-Jordan Love drama to be played out, it should make for an interesting season for the rivals to the north.
Houston Texans
The storyline for this matchup pretty much writes itself — and the media won’t let Bears fans forget it either. This game will be dubbed the Mitchell Trubisky vs. Deshaun Watson game — regardless if Trubisky wins the starting job over Nick Foles or not. But if Trubisky is the backup when this game rolls around, it’ll be so much worse knowing their former No. 2 overall pick is riding the bench.
But aside from the Trubisky-Watson narrative, this matchup will feature some of the league’s best defenses. The Bears will get to face rising star Deshaun Watson for the first time, which should present a challenge. But he’ll be without his top receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Arizona Cardinals earlier this offseason.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bears picked the wrong time to face the NFC South in their schedule this season. Although, no one could’ve predicted a few months ago that future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady would’ve signed with the Buccaneers and that, shortly after, tight end Rob Gronkowski was traded to Tampa Bay. So, technically, the Bears will be playing the Tampa Bay Patriots this season — with added weapons.
Suddenly, this game is among the tougher matchups for the Bears this season, although they’ll get the Buccaneers at Soldier Field. If Chicago’s offense can rise to the occasion — coupled with their dominant defense — they definitely have a chance to take down the Brady-led Bucs.
Tennessee Titans
No one expected the Tennessee Titans to run their way right into the AFC Championship Game last season, which is what makes the NFL exciting. But, as the Bears learned, success last season doesn’t necessarily guarantee repeat success the following year — even if you return the core of your roster.
Still, this Bears vs. Titans matchup got a whole lot more interesting following Tennessee’s success last season, where the Bears stout run defense will be tested by power running back Derrick Henry, who was the Titans’ playoffs MVP last season.
New Orleans Saints
The road to the playoffs in the NFC will likely lead through New Orleans, who the Bears will face for the second straight season. Last year’s result wasn’t what the Bears would’ve liked — a 36-25 loss that wasn’t as close as the score indicates — and they’ll have a chance for a re-do at Soldier Field this season.
Last year, Chicago faced backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who they’ll also face this season when they play the Carolina Panthers. This time, the Bears will face future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who will certainly challenge Chicago’s dominant defense.
