The Chicago Bears aren’t getting much love this offseason, which makes sense considering their disappointing 8-8 season in 2019. But there’s a difference between having reasonable expectations and having a really bad take.
After Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller deemed the Bears the second-worst team in the NFLthe Bears the second-worst team in the NFL, USA Today’s Nate Davis believes that Chicago will finish 3-13 in 2020Chicago will finish 3-13 in 2020.
Which, honestly, is ridiculous. Considering the abundance of issues the Bears had last season — one of the worst offenses in the league, terrible quarterback play, no run game, shoddy offensive line, no tight end production and injuries to some big-name defensive stars — they still managed to finish .500.
While the Bears aren’t likely to string together a 12-win season similar to 2018, it’s even more unlikely that they manage to win just three games.
Here are five reasons why the Bears will finish at or above .500 in 2020.
1. The Bears have one of the best defenses in the NFL
Lost in the disaster that was the Bears offense last season was the impressive showing by Chicago’s defense. While the 2018 unit was a dominant force — leading the NFL in points allowed, takeaways, rushing yards and touchdowns allowed — the 2019 defense was pretty good, as well. They allowed the fourth-fewest points in the league and ranked in the top 10 for passing yards, rushing yards and passing touchdowns allowed. And they accomplished all of this without some key members of their defense for most of the season, including defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and linebacker Danny Trevathan.
While the Bears lost some key depth pieces to free agency this year, including linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and defensive tackle Nick Williams, they did upgrade at pass rush with former All-Pro Robert Quinn and safety with Tashaun Gipson, as well as snagged what many deemed a top-three cornerback prospect in Jaylon Johnson in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. There’s a belief that this 2020 defense could even rival the 2018 defense, but they’ll have to prove it. Still, with the Bears returning a dominant defense, there’s no way that translates to just three wins.
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