You’ll have a hard time finding many that have confidence in the Chicago Bears heading into 2020. Which makes sense given their disappointing 2019 season just one year removed from a 12-4 campaign.
At this point, it’d be hard to sell the Bears as winning the NFC North and locking up a playoff spot, but it’s not hard to sell Chicago as a team that should be better in 2020. Especially considering their deficiencies, particularly on offense, last season and the upgrades they made this offseason.
But there’s a difference between reasonable expectations and ridiculous takes — although, at this point, it’s safe to say not many put onus on offseason predictions for a season that’s still four months away.
Well, except for the teams. And you can bet that for a team like the Bears, that are used to having the odds stacked against them, that this is the kind of disrespect that they’ll use to fuel their 2020 run.
The Bears have already proven that they thrive in the underdog role. Look no further than 2018, which marked the beginning of the Matt Nagy era. The Bears shocked everyone when they marched to a 12-4 record and a No. 3 seed in the postseason.
Not that these 2020 Bears are going to replicate the magic that was the 2018 season. That season was truly special. But can the Bears pull off a similar surprise? Maybe, although we can’t say that at this point of the offseason. Chicago still has questions to answer and doubters to prove wrong.
But coming off a 8-8 season — where the offense was among the worst in the NFL and the defense still thrived amid injuries — it’s blasphemous to think that this team will be among the worst in the league next season.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller and USA Today’s Nate Davis believe that the Bears will be among the worst teams in 2020 — ranking them among the bottom dwellers like the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins.
And this kind of disrespect is exactly what the Bears can — and will — use to motivate them even more to return to respectability in 2020.
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