Chicago Bears: Best and worst-case scenarios for 2019 season
Best-case scenario
- Week 1 – vs. Packers – W
- Week 2 – at Broncos – W
- Week 3 – at Redskins – W
- Week 4 – vs. Vikings – W
- Week 5 – at Raiders – W
- Week 6 – BYE
- Week 7 – vs. Saints – W
- Week 8 – vs. Chargers – L
- Week 9 – at Eagles – W
- Week 10 – vs. Lions – W
- Week 11 – at Rams – L
- Week 12 – vs. Giants – W
- Week 13 – at Lions – W
- Week 14 – vs. Cowboys – L
- Week 15 – at Packers – W
- Week 16 – vs. Chiefs – W
- Week 17 – at Vikings – W
Okay, so let’s get rid of those bad vibes and get to the good ones. Here is my best-case scenario for the Chicago Bears in 2019, again in quarters.
Quarter one: Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Washington, Minnesota Vikings
The Bears are excited to start the 100th NFL season on Thursday night against their hated rivals, the Packers. They want to reverse the dominance the Packers had over the past decade or so. With everyone healthy and ready to go, they maul Aaron Rodgers and the Packers new offense. They start off dominating them as they did in last year’s opening, but this time they finish the job and get a blowout. The Bears are 1-0.
In Week 2, the Bears travel to Denver to face the Broncos. The thin air does affect them a little, but the defense shows some wrinkles that Fangio didn’t have when he was at the helm in Chicago. The Bears are now 2-0.
The Bears are on primetime again in Week 3, this time on Monday night. They take on a bad Washington team and make them look worse. The Bears’ record now stands at 3-0.
The Bears host the Vikings in Week 4. Looking to go up 2-0 in the division and already take a tight grip on the division, the defense dominates again and the offense also plays well. The Bears finish the first quarter of the season 4-0 and the excitement around Chicago is at a fever pitch.
Quarter two: Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles
In Week 5, the Bears travel to London to play Jon Gruden’s Raiders. Mack still harbors ill will towards Gruden and embarrasses the Raiders offense. He collects three sacks and forces a fumble. The Bears move to 5-0.
After a bye week, the Bears host the Saints in Week 7. The Bears handle Brees and the vaunted Saints offense. This time Leonard Floyd collects two sacks and recovers a fumble. With a 6-0 record, even the national media takes notice.
In Week 8 the Bears stay home and face the Chargers. After the high they got from beating the Saints, the Bears come out flat. Even so, it’s a close game. Pineiro misses a field goal attempt late and the Bears lose their first game. The missed field goal reminds everyone why their expectations should be tempered. They are now 6-1.
The Bears travel to take on the Eagles in a revenge game. The defense gets all over the Philly offense and Jordan Howard. They get the victory, but it’s still about 10 months too late. At the halfway point of their season, the Chicago Bears are riding high at 7-1.
Quarter three: Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Detroit Lions
The Bears host the Lions in Week 10. This game is a close one, but the Bears prevail on three Pineiro field goals. His performance alleviates some of the angst Bears fans have over him. The Bears are now 8-1.
The Bears hit the road in Week 11. They take on the Rams. The Rams are looking to make a statement by beating the Bears and they do just that. The Bears are now 8-2.
In Week 12 the Bears host the Giants. They remember what happened last year when it appeared like they took the Giants lightly. They face a new quarterback in Daniel Jones, and he looks every bit the rookie he is. No letdown this time as the Bears handle the Giants easily. Their record is now 9-2. This win guarantees the Bears back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The Bears play in Detroit again for their annual Thanksgiving Day matchup. This one again is close, but for three quarters. The Bears dominate in the fourth quarter and run their record to 10-2. The Super Bowl talk is now higher than a whisper everywhere.
Quarter four: Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings
The Bears host the Cowboys in Week 14. You know how a team has that one game where they are just flat and cannot get out of it? Well, this is what happens to the Bears this week. They just cannot get anything going. They now stand at 10-3.
There is nothing that helps a team avoid another letdown like facing their hated rivals. The Bears do just that by going to Lambeau Field and crushing the Packers. They get the first season sweep of the Packers since 2007 and run their record to 11-3. They also clinch the division against the hated Packers for the second consecutive season.
The Bears face the Chiefs at home in Week 16. They still have a battle for the top spot of the NFC against the Rams. Trubisky shines as he takes advantage of the porous Chiefs defense. Allen Robinson reaches 1,300 receiving yards and grabs his tenth touchdown pass. The Burton/Shaheen combination eclipses 15 touchdowns. The Bears win and their record now stands at 12-3.
In the final week of the season, the Bears travel to face the Vikings. Being that they are not on the West coast, they play before the Rams. Does Nagy rest his starters or play them part of the game — or does he have them play the entire game?
Nagy decides to play them and go for the top seed in the playoffs. The Vikings provide little resistance, even though they have a chance to make the playoffs. Bears win and their final regular-season record is 13-3.
In the playoffs, the Bears cruise by their opening playoff game in the Divisional Round. They then face the Rams again, this time for the NFC Championship. The Bears get revenge and move on to the Super Bowl.
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In the Super Bowl, the Bears face the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bears defense comes through again and keeps the Jags’ offense at bay. Trubisky and the offense does enough to keep the Chicago Bears ahead and finally bring home the Lombardi Trophy to Chicago for the second time in franchise history.