The 2019 NFL schedule has been released, and it offers a full-season glance at what lies in store for the Chicago Bears in the new year.
The Bears are coming off a 12-4 record and an NFC North championship, which brings with it a tougher schedule. Chicago, who is tied for the most primetime games with five, will also face six playoff teams from a year ago.
It’s impossible to accurately judge a team in April. With the 2019 NFL Draft around the corner and an entire offseason program ahead, a lot of these clubs could look vastly different. At this time last April, the Bears didn’t have Roquan Smith, Anthony Miller or Khalil Mack. Those additions greatly impacted this team and catapulted them to success.
But even though every team in the league could look different between now and the start of the regular season, humor me as we take a look at what we can expect in each quarter of the Bears’ 2019 schedule.
First Quarter
Green Bay, at Denver, at Washington, vs. Minnesota
The Bears begin the 2019 season with perhaps their easiest stretch, hosting two division foes, the Packers and Vikings, at home. Chicago will also have two primetime games, including the Thursday-night opener against Green Bay and a Monday Night contest against the Redskins.
What better way for the Bears to kickoff the NFL’s 100th season, as well as their own, than against the Packers at Soldier Field? Not only does it present an opportunity to grab an immediate lead in the division, it is also an opportunity for the Bears to get some revenge for last year’s opening loss. The Bears will get a crack at first-year head coach Matt LaFleur and a seemingly healthy Aaron Rodgers. Oh, and this time Khalil Mack will have more than a week to prepare.
Vic Fangio won’t have to wait long to go against his former team as the Bears travel to face the Broncos in Week 2. This early-season match-up gives this Bears defense an opportunity to prove that they’re still a dominant force without Fangio. And what better way to start than unleashing on new Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco.
Chicago’s second primetime game of the season comes against the Redskins, which doesn’t exactly scream primetime thriller on paper. But this game provides an opportunity for the Bears to build their conference record up, as this is one of three NFC match-ups for Chicago in the first quarter of the season.
The Bears will face a divisional rival twice in the first four weeks of the season when they host Minnesota. But Chicago will have the benefit of home field advantage in both contests. The Bears swept the Vikings last season, with both games happening in the final half of the season. This season, there’s a significant gap between both of these division games. While it’s early, this game against the Vikings presents the Bears with an opportunity to jump out to an early lead in the NFC North.
Second Quarter
at Oakland, vs. New Orleans, vs. LA Chargers, at Philadelphia
Things get a little tougher for the Bears heading into the second quarter, where Chicago will face three playoff teams from a year ago in New Orleans, LA Chargers and Philadelphia. There are also some revenge storylines that are intriguing as Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and the entire Bears fan base has an opportunity for redemption.
Khalil Mack won’t have to wait too long for his chance to get revenge on the team that didn’t think that he was worth the money the Bears paid him. The Bears will hit the road to play Oakland in the NFL’s first international game of the season in London.
The last time the Bears played the Saints, they were coached by John Fox with a first-year quarterback in Mitch Trubisky and receivers that wouldn’t make most 53-man rosters. Not to mention they didn’t have Khalil Mack on a defense that was arguably the league’s best in 2018. But you better believe that Akiem Hicks has revenge on his mind when he plays his former team, especially when he’s got some smack talk to back up against the Saints’ Cameron Jordan.
The first of the Los Angeles teams they’ll face in 2019, the Bears will host Philip Rivers and the Chargers, a playoff team from a year ago. The last time these two teams played was in 2015, where the Bears escaped with a 22-19 victory. While this isn’t a pivotal conference game, it’s a great chance for the Bears to build some momentum heading into their next stretch of games.
The Bears will have to wait until the halfway point of the season to face the team that ended their Super Bowl aspirations a year ago. There are a lot of intriguing storylines in this game, including the second contest between former Chiefs Matt Nagy and Doug Pederson. Then there’s Jordan Howard getting an opportunity to face his former team. Oh, and a little something that had to do with a double doink and broken hearts. While Cody Parkey is long gone, you know that should this game come down to a field goal that Bears fans will be holding their collective breaths.
Third Quarter
vs. Detroit, at LA Rams, vs. NY Giants, at Detroit
The Bears have a chance to go on a run in the third quarter in four very winnable games. Chicago will face division rivals Detroit twice in four weeks, as well as host the Giants in a rematch of last season. Then there’s the rematch of one of the more thrilling games of last season as the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams.
Much like last season, the Bears will face the Lions twice within weeks of each other. Instead of a three-week stretch, the division foes will meet twice in the third quarter of the season. Just like last season, the Bears will travel to Detroit for an early Thanksgiving game. Last season, the Bears were able to pull out a victory in Detroit without their starting quarterback and just 72 hours after a Sunday Night win against the Vikings.
The Bears defense embarrassed one of the league’s top offenses when Jared Goff and the Rams came to Chicago in the dead of December and experienced firsthand just what a Chicago winter feels like. While the weather won’t be a factor in Los Angeles come November, the Bears defense will have an opportunity to replicate their dominance against Goff and Trubisky and this offense will have a chance to show that their offense can compete against the best in the league.
Another rematch from the previous season, the Bears will host a Giants team that they certainly won’t overlook again. The last time these two teams met, Chicago was without Mitch Trubisky and let Saquon Barkley and this Giants offense run all over them. While the Bears fought back to force overtime, this was a game that could’ve helped the Bears in locking up a first-round bye. These are the crucial conference games that the Bears need to lock up.
Fourth Quarter
Vs. Dallas, at Green Bay, vs. Kansas City, at Minnesota
The last quarter of the season might just be the most difficult stretch for the Bears. At a time during the season where the Bears will likely be battling for a repeat as division champions and a playoff spot, Chicago will face two playoff teams from a year ago in the Cowboys and Chiefs. They’ll also have two pivotal divisional games on the road against the Packers and Vikings.
The match-up between the Bears and Cowboys certain makes for an interesting one. The Bears certainly hold a home-field advantage against Dallas, where the weather will be freezing and the crowd raucous. Both teams are pretty evenly matched, so this should be a close one, but this is a pivotal conference game in the final stretch that the Bears need to win.
When the Bears played the Packers last season in the final quarter, they were playing with a divisional title within their reach. And, unlike the first match-up of the season, they were able to finish. Perhaps the Bears are in a similar position this season? Or perhaps this is a pivotal divisional game that could decide the division?
The storylines surrounding the Bears/Chiefs game are numerous. Not only will it mark the first regular-season game between Matt Nagy and his mentor Andy Reid, but it will also pit arguably the NFL’s best offense against arguably the NFL’s best defense. And that’s just the appetizer. Then there’s the whole Mitch Trubisky vs. Patrick Mahomes narrative that’s sure to account for at least half of the storylines that week.
Another season, another regular-season finale in Minnesota. The Bears could very well find themselves playing for a division title or playoff berth. Or perhaps the Bears find themselves in a similar scenario as last season where they could rest their starters.
