Worst case schedule scenarios for the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Season
The 2024 NFL Schedule is set to be released later this month, and the Chicago Bears could be right in the spotlight given their rookie class. Everyone knew what the Bears planned on doing when they clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but they truly enhanced their draft class when they took Rome Odunze, a consensus top-five player, at the ninth pick.
All of a sudden, the Chicago Bears look like quite the strong team on paper, and given that plus their historic stand in the NFL, they'll surely have a notable schedule when the NFL officially releases it. Could there be some disastrous scheduling scenarios for Chicago, though?
Worst case schedule scenarios for the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Season
1. Having a lot of primetime games
The Bears might not be able to avoid this, but right now, this team is still pretty inexperienced. Their present and future success is going to hinge on rookie Caleb Williams, and thrusting this team and rookie QB into the spotlight immediately could be a case of "the lights were too bright." Ideally, Chicago should hope that they aren't plastered with many primetime games, especially if those games are going to be against their tougher opponents.
2. Playing any of the 49ers, Texans, or Rams late in the season
The way I see it, the truly elite teams in the NFL, perhaps like many other teams, are better late in the season than they are in the beginning. It's not uncommon for a playoff team to begin the year 0-2 or 1-3. For Chicago's sake, three of their toughest opponents in 2024 are the 49ers, Texans, and Rams, three teams who can surely all win the Super Bowl this year.
A disaster scenario for their schedule is playing any of these three teams late in the season, as all three teams could not only be wrapped up in a playoff race, but could have a No. 1 seed scenario at stake, so you know that the Bears will get their best.
3. JJ McCarthy being a quick study in the NFL
This would be a horrible scenario, as both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers have entrenched, top QBs in the NFL with Jared Goff and Jordan Love. The Bears are going to have to deal with those teams a total of four times each season, and those games won't be easy. The Vikings ended up taking JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
And there could be a scenario where McCarthy turns out to be a quick study in the NFL, earning the starting job and taking over early. It'd be another wrinkle for the Bears to deal with, as the Vikings did pay Sam Darnold $10 million for the 2024 season, so the assumption might be that the young McCarthy could sit for a year.
If not, and JJ McCarthy ends up being a stud selection, Chicago's divisional schedule gets all than more tougher.