Chicago Bears: Best and worst-case scenarios for 2019 season
Worst-case scenario
- Week 1 – vs. Packers – W
- Week 2 – at Broncos – L
- Week 3 – at Redskins – W
- Week 4 – vs. Vikings – L
- Week 5 – at Raiders – W
- Week 6 – BYE
- Week 7 – vs. Saints – L
- Week 8 – vs. Chargers – L
- Week 9 – at Eagles – W
- Week 10 – vs. Lions – W
- Week 11 – at Rams – L
- Week 12 – vs. Giants – L
- Week 13 – at Lions – L
- Week 14 – vs. Cowboys – L
- Week 15 – at Packers – W
- Week 16 – vs. Chiefs – W
- Week 17 – at Vikings – W
Let’s first take a look at the season as if Murphy’s Law was in effect — everything that could go wrong will. Let’s go through this scenario by quarters.
First-quarter: Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Washington, Minnesota Vikings
The Chicago Bears open up the NFL’s 100th season with a Thursday night game at home against the Packers. The fans are excited since there are high hopes for the season. The team is fired up and they handle the Packers easily, winning the game 34-17. Things get off to a good start and Bears Nation’s excitement is super high as the Bears’ record is 1-0.
In Week 2, the Bears travel to Denver and face their old friend Fangio. Chicago starts off well, but the altitude proves to be too much and they wear down as the game progresses. They’re worn out as the Broncos dominate the fourth quarter and get the upset win. The Bears are now 1-1.
In Week 3 the Bears again travel, this time to Washington. They face a team with Case Keenum as their starter. This team isn’t in the Bears’ league and, while the Bears beat them, it is too close for comfort. They have a sloppy win and their record now stands at 2-1.
The Bears come home in Week 4 to face their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears look disorganized as quarterback Mitch Trubisky has trouble connecting to his receivers. Burton aggravates his sports hernia injury and leaves the game. The Vikings make a statement and win the game. The Bears are now 2-2 at the first quarter mark of the season.
Second-quarter: Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles
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The Bears face the Raiders in London in Week 5. Mack gets to face his nemesis, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. The Bears come out with another sloppy win to run their record above the .500 mark again to 3-2.
After a bye week, Chicago faces Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Burton is put on Injured Reserve with a designation to return but it doesn’t look good. This game is a barn burner, with Trubisky actually keeping up with Brees. The game is close, but a missed field goal gives the Saints the win. Bears are now 3-3.
The Bears stay home in Week 8 and take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Philip Rivers carves up the Bears secondary and the Chargers come up with the win. The Bears now own a losing record at 3-4. The fans are grumbling.
In Week 9 the Bears travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagle. They are looking for revenge after the double-doink debacle. Montgomery helps them with that, going wild both rushing and receiving. The Bears are back to even at 4-4.
Third-quarter: Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Detroit Lions
The Bears face the Detroit Lions at home in Week 10. Kyle Long goes down with a leg injury and misses most of the game. Late in the game, Kyle Fuller twists an ankle. The Bears overcome that and still win. They are now 5-4.
In Week 11, the Bears travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. This time the Rams are out for revenge as their offense was embarrassed last season. They get that revenge with Fuller and Long out and win going away. The Bears are back to even at 5-5.
The Bears take on the New York Giants in Week 12. The Giants have Daniel Jones at quarterback and he impresses. The Giants come away with the victory and the Bears are now 5-6.
The Bears have a Thanksgiving matchup with the Lions in Week 13. Facing the Lions twice in four weeks gives Detroit an advantage. The Bears fail to win and now stand at 5-7. Long is ruled out for the rest of the season.
Fourth-quarter: Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings
The Bears limp into the final quarter of the season with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. They host the Dallas Cowboys. Ezekiel Elliott succeeds on the ground where most running backs fail against the Bears defense and Dak Prescott does just enough to win. Trubisky gets injured and Chase Daniel has to finish the game. The Bears are now 5-8 and unlikely to make the playoffs.
The Bears travel to Green Bay in Week 15 in what some thought was a battle for first place. Instead, this is a battle to stay out of last place. The Bears win and pull off a season sweep of the Packers for the first time since the 2007 season. Things may be bad but at least they aren’t the Packers. The Bears’ record is now 6-8.
The Bears host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16. Somehow, they play their best game of the season. Burton has a great game and Trubisky shines. Montgomery also has a great game as the Bears offense takes advantage of a bad Chiefs defense. The Bears stand just one game from finishing even for the season at 7-8.
In the final game of the season, the Bears take on the division champions, the Vikings. Minnesota has nothing to play for so they rest their starters. The Bears take advantage of that and beat the backups. The Bears finish the season at 8-8 and miss out in the playoffs.
While the ending record is awful, they do feel good about finishing the season strong, winning their final three games to avert an even bigger disaster. That leads to hopes for the 2020 season (at least there is hope, right?).