Chicago Bears: 5 Bold predictions for the 2020 season
1. Chicago Bears return to the playoffs and advance past the first round
In the past 10 seasons, the Chicago Bears made only two playoff appearances. In 2010, they reached the NFC Championship where they lost to the hated Packers. In 2018, they reached the playoffs again, where they lost in the Wild Card round on the infamous double doink against the Eagles.
The Bears want to start a new decade on the right foot. Not many people feel they will, however. To be honest, however, not many people predicted them to be as good as they were in 2010 and 2018, either. The Bears want to surprise the so-called experts again.
After a great 2018 season, Nagy won the NFL Coach of the Year award and everyone tabbed him a boy genius. With the disastrous 2019 season, though, his reputation took a hit. Some thought he wasn’t much of a genius after all. His offense ranked near the bottom in most areas so how good was he, really?
Well, Nagy is in his third year as Chicago Bears coach but he hasn’t really been able to run the offense the way he wants. Inferior play from the offensive line and bad decisions by the quarterbacks kept the offense from reaching its full potential. The disastrous play by the tight ends in 2019 really hurt the offense.
Nagy’s offense is similar to what Andy Reid, his mentor, runs. That system depends on the tight ends. In Philadelphia, Doug Pederson, another one of Reid’s disciples, had Zach Ertz (they also had Brent Celek, and who could forget Burton’s Philly Special in the Super Bowl?). In Kansas City, Reid had Travis Kelce, one of, if not the best, tight ends in the NFL.
The tight ends group is improved and will make a bigger contribution to the offense. With Germain Ifedi as the new starting right guard and with James Daniels and Cody Whitehair not switching again like they did last season (along with better depth), the offensive line should also be improved. That improvement should help the Bears’ running game and give the quarterbacks more time in the pocket.
Next. Predictions for every major NFL award in 2020. dark
If the moves the Bears made this offseason end up working, we’ll see more victories on the horizon and a playoff appearance.
Prediction: The Bears finish with a record of 9-7 and earn a Wild Card berth. They’ll win their first-round game and advance to the Divisional Round.