Chicago Bears: 5 intriguing matchups in the Bears’ schedule
By Ryan Sikes
The Chicago Bears will kick their 2019 off at home against the Green Bay Packers. The NFL released the rest of the schedule yesterday, and the Bears have some exciting match-ups ahead of them.
The Chicago Bears now know the dates and times of their 2019 opponents, as the NFL has released the schedule for all 32 teams. Prior to this point, the team had known only that they would be kicking off their season at home against the Green Bay Packers to celebrate the league’s 100th anniversary. The Bears and Packers are the NFL’s oldest rivalry, so this makes a ton of sense. Historically, the Super Bowl Champions kick off the NFL season as it gives them the prime time stage to hoist their championship banner. However, the New England Patriots will have to wait until Sunday Night Football to do so.
Winning just five games in 2017, the Bears surprised everyone going worst-to-first and finishing with a record of 12-4 in 2018. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. The Bears are pegged as one of the favorites for Super Bowl contenders around the league, but if they wish to make their travel arrangements to Miami, they will have to do so facing a first-place schedule in 2019.
The Bears will be relying on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to be more consistent in year three. He improved his quarterback rating nearly 20 points from 2017 to 2018, but he was very up and down last season. The team will also have to re-define their running back situation as Jordan Howard was shipped off to Philadelphia for a 2020 sixth-round pick, with the potential of it becoming a fifth-round pick based on Howard’s performance.
The defense figures to be the backbone again in 2019, but under a new defensive coordinator in Chuck Pagano. Both the offense and defense lost just one starter in safety Adrian Amos and the aforementioned Howard. The Bears added safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on a one-year “prove it” deal of just $3.5 million, and they figure to utilize one of their first draft picks next week on a running back. The roster is in good shape with very few holes, and now it’s just a matter of executing from week-to-week.
Let’s take a look the best match-ups in the 2019 season.