The Chicago Bears don’t have a lot of believers around the NFL these days. That’s not a huge surprise. Questions at quarterback mixed with how disappointing their finish was in 2019 has a lot of people struggling to see them rebound. This isn’t a huge shock. It’s a quarterback-driven league and right now the Bears have two who have low value ratings. Mitch Trubisky due to his rough season and Nick Foles because he was benched for Gardner Minshew.
Nick Wright of FS1’s First Things First is not among the people assuming the Bears will remain the same though. In fact, he has the highest expectations for them. When asked to predict his final standings for the NFC at the end of the 2020 regular season, he had the Bears at the top. They finish with a 12-4 record and claim homefield advantage in the playoffs.
Why?
“Listen, everyone thinks Chicago’s going to stink. The Bears won 12 games two years ago. They were 8-8 last year despite Mitch Trubisky being their quarterback. Despite having awful turnover luck. Only four teams had fewer interceptions (on Defense)…and they get Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan back. I think the Bears with just league average quarterback play in Nick Foles are going to be really, really good.”
Chicago Bears certainly have the upside to achieve that
It’s not so crazy to think the Bears can do this. They went 12-4 in 2018. They started 3-1 last season before injuries started to hit. Trubisky against the Vikings at home. Hicks against the Raiders in London. Kyle Long experienced his final decline around that same time as well. It was a brutal stretch that took a lot of wind out of their sails. Then after the Saints debacle coming out of the bye week during his return, Trubisky seemed to lose his confidence and the team never seemed to recover.
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Hicks is back now. He’ll be joined up front by a newly-arrived Robert Quinn, fresh off 11.5 sacks last season for Dallas. The Bears also rebuild their tight end position, added more speed at receiver, and infused their coaching staff with a ton of offensive experience. The first half of the 2020 schedule also looks friendly, including several teams that missed the playoffs last year.
Obviously the games still need to be played, but the Bears have shown they can string together wins before. One could argue their roster is much better than last season. All it takes is a couple of lucky breaks and some momentum.
