As the 2019 NFL season approaches the end of the regular season, there are plenty of games remaining with playoff implications. Just none that feature the Chicago Bears.
The Bears have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, following Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers and a Minnesota Vikings win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Bears are slated to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 16. But heading into Week 15, there was some speculation that the NFL could opt out of that matchup if the Bears lost to the Packers, since Chicago’s season would be over. But the NFL has opted to stick with Bears-Chiefs in primetime on Sunday.
The NFL has confirmed that next week’s Bears-Chiefs game will be played at 7:20pm CT on NBC as originally scheduled.
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) December 15, 2019
As far as candidates for that primetime spot, an NFC East game between the Dallas Cowboys (7-7) and Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) was one, but instead it will remain in the 3:25 p.m. slot on FOX.
Then there was a showdown between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans, but that game seemed to lose steam following the Titans’ loss in Week 15.
This Bears-Chiefs primetime matchup still has plenty of storylines that will be a draw, despite the lack of playoff implications considering the Bears are eliminated and the Chiefs have already locked up a spot.
This game will surely be dubbed the Mitchell Trubisky vs. Patrick Mahomes game, where the top two quarterbacks selected in the 2017 NFL Draft will face off for the first time.
Then there’s Matt Nagy vs. Andy Reid, where the student will square off against his mentor for the first time in a regular season game.
Given the Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention, they’re left playing for pride and the future beyond 2019.
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