FOURTH QUARTER

Week 14 at Cincinnati Bengals

This has to be one of the most frustrating teams out there. At times they look unstoppable and others like a complete loss. The Bengals should’ve been in the playoffs last year but they flopped. Now people are wondering which team will show up in 2017. Will Marv Lewis once again rally in the nick of time to save his job? Perhaps, but it’s clear enough Cincinnati has a much deeper and further developed roster than the Bears do. That should be the difference.

Result: Loss

Week 15 at Detroit Lions

By this time of year the writing should pretty much be on the wall. The Bears aren’t going to the playoffs again, though they’ve at least managed to improve on their record from a year ago. Finishing strong sounds nice but in reality this is still a team very much in transition. They’ve kept it competitive the past few times they visited the Lions up in Detroit but haven’t found a way to pull out the victory. Until the Bears can match the quarterback level of Stafford, that should continue.

Result: Loss

Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.

Week 16 vs. Cleveland Browns

In spite of another large influx of draft picks, the Cleveland Browns are still a pretty bad team. Take one look at their quarterback position to understand why. Chicago appears in much better shape at the position. How fitting would it be if the Bears chose to debut their #2 overall pick in Mitch Trubisky? The hometown guy Cleveland was hoping to get. It would make a certain sense. Get the rookie some playing experience and good odds of some confidence with a victory in his first appearance.

Result: Win

Week 17 at Minnesota Vikings

Each of the past two times that the Bears ended a season in Minnesota, it was fairly disastrous. They were hammered 38-10 last year and beaten 13-9 in 2014. This of course not counting the equally ugly 38-17 beat down they took in 2015. Suffice to say it’s been a long time since Chicago was able to beat the Vikings on the road. With nothing to play for at this point, typically the talents on the roster shine through. Minnesota remains ahead in that regard.

Result: Loss