To no one’s surprise, the Chicago Bears moved on from GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy after a 6-11 season in 2021. However, it’s hard to get excited about the Bears this season even with new blood running the team. New GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will have their work cut out for them to even surpass the six wins the team tallied last season. While the Bears have some promising talent to build around, they will definitely not rebuild in a snap of a finger. Indeed, patience is a virtue and Bears’ fans will need it for this new season which will be filled with growing pains. Quarterback Justin Fields, the eleventh overall draft pick in 2021 is the centerpiece of the offense but unless the offensive line improves and more weapons are provided, it’s hard to assess an accurate appraisal of his abilities.
What the Bears did in the offseason isn’t necessarily unpleasant but they surely didn’t cater to make things better for Fields. Eberflus is a respected coach but he isn’t an offensive-minded coach while Poles cautioned Bears’ fans that his team will build through the draft and would move gingerly in free agency, which normally means avoiding big-money players. To wit, there weren’t many obvious upgrades to the offensive line or skilled-position group, both of which needed a clear injection of talent. They watched their No.1 receiver Allen Robinson II signed with the Los Angeles Rams than proceeded to use their first two draft picks on defense. WR Darnell Mooney emerged as Fields’ go-to pass catcher nabbing 81 passes for 1,055 yards and 4 scores. The Bears did add wide receivers Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis but all are marginal talents.
Plus, Fields will hope to have time to find that pedestrian receiving corps for he will be behind possibly the worst offensive line in the league. The blocking unit was awful last season, yet the Bears lost nine-time pro-bowler Jason Peters and James Daniels and multiple key backups to free agency and haven’t been able to replace them with competency. The unit’s deficiencies will also have an impact on RB David Montgomery’s production as it did last year. Defensively, the Bears were in the middle of the pack with yards per play against and yards per pass against but that was with former pro-bowlers Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack in the line-up. Both have gone on to greener pastures. What’s left are LB Robert Quinn, who set a team record with 18.5 sacks last season, and budding star LB Roquan Smith.
The Bears have some winnable games against the Texans, Jets, Giants, Falcons and the Commanders but with a roster lacking depth, it is wishful thinking that they do come out on top in each of those capers.
Chicago Bears Offseason Moves:
Notable Additions: QB Trevor Siemian, WR Byron Pringle, WR Equanimeous St. Brown, WR Dante Pettis, WR Tajae Sharpe, TE Ryan Griffin DT Mike Pennel, CB Tavon Young
Notable Departures: QB Nick Foles, WR Allen Robinson, OT Jason Peters, DT Akiem Hicks, OLB Khalil Mack, LB Danny Trevathan, CB Artie Burns
1st and 2nd Draft Picks: CB Kyler Gordon (39), S Jaquan Brisker (48)
2022-23 Chicago Bears NFL Futures Odds
- Odds to win the 2023 Super Bowl LVII: 150/1
- Odds to win the 2022-23 NFC Conference: 80/1
- Odds to win the 2022-23 NFC South +1500
- 2022-23 Regular Season Win Total: Over 5½ (-160)
- Odds to Make the Playoffs: Yes +350 | No -550
- Official website: chicagobears.com
- Twitter Account : @ChicagoBears
The Bottom Line:
Most likely, this will be a long season for the Bears. The only competition outside of getting beaten every other week is the quest for possibly owning the first overall draft pick in 2023. With low expectations, the freedom to experiment somehow could alleviate some pressure for the Bears to compete but the lack of talent will definitely show its grin throughout this rebuilding season.
Last year’s record: 6-11
My Prediction: 4-13
2022-23 Chicago Bears Stage of Elimination
- To Miss the Playoffs -600
- To Lose in Wildcard Round +400
- To Lose in Divisional Round +1200
- To Lose in Conference Championship Game +3500
- To Lose in Super Bowl +10000
- To Win Super Bowl +15000
Odds According to Bovada as of August, 2022
2022-23 Chicago Bears Season Team Specials
CHI Bears to score over 350.5 Reg Season Points +110
Cole Kmet & Darnell Mooney over 1499.5 combined Reg season Receiving yards +110
Justin Fields & David Montgomery over 1499.5 combined Reg season Rush yards +110
Darnell Mooney over 999.5 Reg season Receiving yards & Justin Fields over 3.5 Reg season Rushing TDs +250
David Montgomery over 900.5 Reg season Rushing yards & over 7.5 Reg season TDs +290
Cole Kmet over 4.5 Reg season Receiving TDs & CHI Bears to make the playoffs +1000
Justin Fields Over 3499.5 Reg season Passing yards & CHI Bears to win NFC North +2200
CHI Bears to reach the NFC Championship Game +4000
CHI Bears to concede the Fewest Reg Season Points +5000
Darnell Mooney Most Reg Season Receiving Yards & CHI Bears to be a Wild Card Seed +15000
Aengus NFL Season Special Prediction on Bears:
- Fields will not go over 4,000 yards passing
- Mooney will go over 1,000 yards receiving
- Chicago will finish last in the NFC North
- Montgomery will not go over 1,000 yards rushing
- Quinn will not go over 14.5 sacks in 2022
- Chicago will not go over 4.5 wins in 2022
Season Props According to Bovada as of August, 2022
Bet on the Chicago Bears 2022-23 Season Props at Bovada Sportsbook.
Chicago Bears 2022-23 Schedule
| PRESEASON | |||||
| W. | Date | Time | Opponent | Game site | TV |
| 1 | 13-Aug | Kansas City Chiefs | Soldier Field | CBS 2 | |
| 2 | 18-Aug | at Seattle Seahawks | Lumen Field | ESPN | |
| 3 | 27-Aug | at Cleveland Browns | FirstEnergy Stadium | CBS 2 | |
| REGULAR SEASON | |||||
| W. | Date | Time | Opponent | Game site | TV |
| 1 | 11-Sep | 1:00 p.m. | San Francisco 49ers | Soldier Field | Fox |
| 2 | 18-Sep | 8:20 p.m. | at Green Bay Packers | Lambeau Field | NBC |
| 3 | 25-Sep | 1:00 p.m. | Houston Texans | Soldier Field | CBS |
| 4 | 2-Oct | 1:00 p.m. | at New York Giants | MetLife Stadium | Fox |
| 5 | 9-Oct | 1:00 p.m. | at Minnesota Vikings | U.S. Bank Stadium | Fox |
| 6 | 13-Oct | 8:15 p.m. | Washington Commanders | Soldier Field | Prime Video |
| 7 | 24-Oct | 8:15 p.m. | at New England Patriots | Gillette Stadium | ESPN |
| 8 | 30-Oct | 1:00 p.m. | at Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | Fox |
| 9 | 6-Nov | 1:00 p.m. | Miami Dolphins | Soldier Field | CBS |
| 10 | 13-Nov | 1:00 p.m. | Detroit Lions | Soldier Field | Fox |
| 11 | 20-Nov | 1:00 p.m. | at Atlanta Falcons | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Fox |
| 12 | 27-Nov | 1:00 p.m. | at New York Jets | MetLife Stadium | Fox |
| 13 | 4-Dec | 1:00 p.m. | Green Bay Packers | Soldier Field | Fox |
| 14 | Bye | ||||
| 15 | 18-Dec | 1:00 p.m. | Philadelphia Eagles | Soldier Field | Fox |
| 16 | 24-Dec | 1:00 p.m. | Buffalo Bills | Soldier Field | CBS |
| 17 | 1-Jan | 1:00 p.m. | at Detroit Lions | Ford Field | Fox |
| 18 | Jan 7/8 | TBD | Minnesota Vikings | Soldier Field | TBD |
All Time EST
Bet on the Chicago Bears 2022-23 Season at Bovada Sportsbook.
