Chicago Bears: Team facing brutal start to 2017 season

The Chicago Bears would love to get the 2017 season started on the right foot, but their schedule may make that tough.

Getting off to a good start is critical for any team beginning a new season, but even more so for the Chicago Bears. Last year, the Bears fell flat on their face coming out of the gates, losing their first three games and six and their first seven overall. The team lost confidence and positive momentum, and the result was a 3-13 record, one of the worst records in franchise history.

Plain and simple, the Bears have been a losing franchise for many years. Nine wins combined in the last two years is a hard pill to swallow. There are a ton of young players on this roster who are getting their first real taste of the NFL game. The last thing you want is for this losing culture to continue and rub-off on these players.

Establishing a winning culture is easy to say, but hard to do. The first step, however, is by winning more games, particularly early in the season. Unfortunately for the Bears, their early season schedule looks pretty darn daunting.

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An opening day matchup against an angry NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons team is not a great way to start a season. Could the Falcons have a Super Bowl hangover? Sure. But that alone doesn’t mean the opening game is going to be a cakewalk. Mike Glennon will be making his first Bears start, so I’m sure he’ll have some jitters early on too.

Week 2 is Glennon’s chance for revenge, as the Bears travel down to Tampa Bay. The Bucs may or may not be better this year, but what is certain is that it is going to be hot. Conditioning, especially that early in the season, will be tested.

The third week of the season has the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting Soldier Field. The Steelers have one of the best offenses in the league, so the much-improved Bears defense will be tested. Also, if Glennon struggles for even a second, will the Soldier Field crowd grow restless and call for Mitchell Trubisky to start? If they do, it might be a nightmare for the Bears.

Following that game is a Thursday night tilt in Green Bay to face the Packers. Facing the Packers on the road in a short week? That’s a potential recipe for a disaster. In Week 5, the Bears have a Monday Night home date with the Minnesota Vikings. Who’s starting at quarterback for the Bears at that point is anybody’s guess, and how whichever quarterback plays on a national stage will be fascinating. The Vikings aren’t great, but they’re not pushovers either.

The Bears finally get a break in Week 6 when they travel to Baltimore, as the Ravens seem to be trending towards a more dysfunctional team than a Super Bowl contender. However, it’s still on the road and John Harbaugh is a great coach who should have his team at least playing respectable.

Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Week 1

So, all in all, the Bears could (key word being could) be staring at a 0-6 or 1-5 start, similar to last season. So much for getting off on the right foot, huh? Anything can happen between now and when the Bears play these teams, and who knows, the Bears may surprise people this season. However, it’s a brutal early season schedule for the Bears, and one that could derail the team’s season before it’s even half over.