The Bears finds
themselves in the unfortunate situation of having one of the toughest schedules
in the upcoming season.
Here is our
high-level split:
Schedule rank: 4th
most difficult
Schedule – home rank: Most difficult
Schedule – away rank: 14th easiest
Schedule – travel rank: 19th ‘easiest’
The season starts
with a challenging game when they face the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field.
After that things
arguably taper off a little, when they head down to Mile High to take on the
Broncos, followed by another away game, albeit against a slightly easier
opponent in the Washington Redskins,
Their final two
games before the have them hosting the Minnesota Vikings, before jetting off to
London to face the Oakland Raiders.
The first few games
after the bye after brutal, facing the New Orleans Saints at home, then the Los
Angeles Chargers at home, and finally the Philadelphia Eagles away.
By our projections,
the Eagles game is the first time they will be a (betting) outsider in any
game.
Their next four
games are some very winnable games, playing the Detroit Lions at home, the Los
Angeles Rams away (where again they are expected to be the underdog), the New
York Giants at home and finally the Lions again, albeit this time in Detroit.
Hopefully by this
time the Bears have several wins on the board, as their finish is particularly
tough.
In Week 14, they
face the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field, before they head to Lambeau Field to
face the Packers again.
Their last home game
of the regular season has the Bears hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16,
before a trip to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings.
From a betting
perspective, we project that the Bears will start favorite in all of their home
games, as well as the away clashes against the Broncos, Redskins, Raiders (in
London) and Lions). We project them to be outsiders against the Eagles, Rams,
Packers and Vikings.
More detail about their schedule is in the graphic below: