Breaking down each quarter of the Bears’ 2022 schedule (2024)

• Week 1: vs San Francisco 49ers
• Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
• Week 3: vs Houston Texans
• Week 4: at New York Giants

The first quarter of the Bears’ season features winnable games. While the 49ers’ roster is regarded as one of the better units in the NFC, they are a large question mark. Trey Lance could be very good immediately. That said, the more likely result is he will have his bumps in the road early on and look like a quarterback with less than five starts in two years. Keeping their opening contest with a team who was in the NFC Championship Game will be a big morale boost for the Bears — a win would be a statement that could set the tone for the entire season.

Green Bay will always be a large thorn in the side of Chicago as long as Aaron Rodgers is there, and as long as the Bears are in this state of flux. The Packers have owned this rivalry as of late, and it doesn’t look as if much will change, at least not this season.

Games against Houston and New York will both be wildcards. The Texans may not be a playoff contender, but there are some that are high on the possible next steps they could take. In terms of the Giants, with a new regime led by head coach Brian Daboll, New York could be a potential worst-to-first team this season. While relying on teams to stumble out of the gate isn’t what fans want to hope for in order for the Bears to have a better chance of winning, that’s the spot this Bears team is in.

• Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings
• Week 6: vs Washington Commanders
• Week 7: at New England Patriots
• Week 8: at Dallas Cowboys

The Vikings have become the hipster pick to win the NFC North in 2022. Their offense is full of great talent, including Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook, and Kirk Cousins has been fantastic over the last two seasons. Traveling to Minnesota, after already playing Green Bay, will give an early outlook on who will sit atop the NFC North totem pole.

The Commanders will surprise a lot of people, and the Bears may be in for a rude awakening. Specifically the offensive line having to go up against Chase Young, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Da’Ron Payne. Facing one of the best front fours in football, along with an offense who upgraded at receiver and quarterback, will be quite the task.

The Week 7 contest against New England will mark the first time that Mac Jones and Justin Fields have played one another in the NFL. While Fields clearly has more physical tools than Jones, he will have a lot to prove in this game specifically, seeing that he was taken four picks ahead of the former Alabama quarterback. This is one I would pay close attention to.

Chicago will be able to move the ball against the Cowboys’ largely overrated defense. While it was great to watch Trevon Diggs intercept a million passes, he and the Cowboys secondary got beat over the top a ton in 2021. The Bears offense will be fast in 2022, so a few splash plays aren’t out of the question. That said, Dallas can put up points of their own, and this could turn out to be a sleeper shootout in Week 8.

• Week 9: vs Miami Dolphins
• Week 10: vs Detroit Lions
• Week 11: at Atlanta Falcons
• Week 12: at New York Jets
• Week 13: vs Packers

The Dolphins game will be winnable. As much talent as the Dolphins have at the skill positions in Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa isn’t going to torch defenses downfield. Their defense features an amazing secondary, and will almost certainly make the game interesting, but the Dolphins are getting a lot of love that may be unwarranted.

The Lions are on the other side of the coin, as they may not be getting enough attention for the upgrades they have made. Adding the likes of Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams in the draft, as well as signing D.J. Chark, Detroit will be a better team than they were in 2021.

Atlanta has all the makings of a toilet fire. They will be fielding a quarterback who hasn’t been a starter in three seasons, and they have almost no one that jumps off the screen as a difference maker on their roster. Chicago should walk into Atlanta and leave with a win.

The Week 12 game against the Jets will mark another game featuring two quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. Zach Wilson showed vast improvement in the final month of the season, and the Jets have had a tremendous offseason and draft. Fields will have a lot of opportunities to play against his quarterback peers, and it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against the likes of Jones and Wilson.

The Bears will host the Packers at Soldier Field, which always has a special feel to it, but as stated earlier, Green Bay has owned this rivalry for over half a decade.

• Week 14: Bye
• Week 15: vs Philadelphia Eagles
• Week 16: vs Buffalo Bills
• Week 17: at Detroit Lions
• Week 18: vs Minnesota Vikings

The Bears will have a late bye week before concluding their season with three of their final four games at home. They will face an Eagles team in which they match up well against. Philadelphia’s roster got better, but Jalen Hurts’ progression will dictate how far they go. Adding A.J. Brown is great, but if the quarterback can’t hit him on deep balls, it’s all for not. I really like the Bears to win this game.

Chicago will host arguably the best team in the NFL in the Buffalo Bills when Week 16 rolls around in a chilly Soldier Field. Buffalo is a heavyweight when it comes to talent, and will be vying for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The only way the Bears could pull off the upset is if they use the blueprint that Jacksonville did in 2021 — get as much pressure on Josh Allen as humanly possible and win a low-scoring game.

The second of two matchups with the Lions will be the penultimate game for the Bears. Detroit is good enough to take one from Chicago, but the two will ultimately split the season series. Chicago will close out 2022 at home where they will host the Vikings. Minnesota will be a team fighting for a playoff spot, so this game will have meaning. Chicago will have an opportunity to play spoiler to their division rival in front of their home fans, which would be a nice way to end the season.

There are multiple winnable games for the Bears, but it will all depend on how quickly this roster comes into its own around their second-year quarterback. At most, the Bears will be a seven win team who will be a tough out for any team as the season progresses. At worst, they will struggle to win five games and will be drafting in the top five of the 2023 NFL draft.