The Chicago Bears have taken the brunt of NFL analysts this offseason, where several of them have declared they’ll be among the worst teams in the league in 2020.
Following a disappointing 2019 season, it’s easy to understand where the doubt comes from. But you also have to factor in the fact that the Bears were still able to win eight games during a season where their offense floundered and their defense suffered significant losses with injuries to defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith.
While the Bears aren’t considered favorites to return to the playoffs, there’s no reason to believe they’ll regress to three wins in 2020. Especially considering the Bears made some offseason moves to bolster their team, including quarterback Nick Foles, tight ends Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet, as well as pass rusher Robert Quinn and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
But there is one NFL analyst that believes the Bears will be one of the best teams in the league next season. Nick Wright has been predicting the NFL’s 2020 schedule, and when he got to the NFC North, Wright had a shocking prediction.
Wright believes the Bears will win 12 games and clinch the division in Week 17 with a win over the hated Packers. According to the graphic, Wright also has Chicago as the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Watch @getnickwright pick all 256 games on the NFL's 2020 schedule. Next up is the NFC North, which has his most surprising prediction of the season.
Nick has the Packers and Bears with 12 wins, but only one team can win the division in Week 17. https://t.co/njWHK3lNza
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) May 25, 2020
Wright’s reasoning for the Bears shocking the NFL has to do with their struggles in 2019 — and how they ultimately were able to eke out eight wins despite those fallacies. They added Foles, they’re getting back Hicks and Trevathan and Chicago’s defense should be able to force more takeaways than last season, where they were among the worst in the league.
Something that the Bears haven’t been associated with this offseason is optimism, so it’s a satisfying deviation from the norm. Wright believes that the Bears will be one of the last undefeated teams in the NFL in 2020, citing the favorable early stretch of their schedule as a reason why. He has their first loss coming on the road against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7 on Monday Night Football.
While it might seem a little extreme to believe the Bears could lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC at this point, it’s not impossible to believe. If Chicago’s defense returns to its dominant form in 2020 and the offense operates effectively, there’s no reason to believe that the Bears won’t be in contention for the NFC North title and perhaps the top seed in the conference.
[vertical-gallery id=445985]
[lawrence-related id=446004,445992,445970,445928,445948]