The schedule will be out in less than a week, we predict how often the Bears will be on national television.
Last year, with little expectation for the Chicago Bears to be a winning team, the Bears found themselves on primetime television four times (Monday night vs Vikings, Thursday night vs Panthers and Commanders, Sunday night vs Chargers). This was because the Bears are a historic franchise and they play in a large, football-hungry market.
With an exciting rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams now on the roster and the Bears being one of the media’s favorites to make a leap this year, you can bet that number will increase this year.
So without further adieu, let’s predict the Chicago Bears’ primetime games this season.
Week 1, Sept. 9- Monday Night Football- At Washington Commanders
How perfect would this be? Number one overall pick Caleb Williams’ NFL debut takes place in his hometown against the number two overall pick, Jayden Daniels. This would be a great opportunity for the league to highlight a Washington team on national television that doesn’t expect to win many games.
Having Washington with a 0-0 record on Monday Night Football is easy to stomach for ESPN. Having Washington on MNF in late October when they are 2-6 isn’t nearly as appealing to the World Wide Leader.
Week 3, Sept. 22- Sunday Night Football- Home Green Bay Packers
After skipping a year without having Bears vs Packers on Sunday Night Football, NBC will want to have the hot shot Williams go head-to-head with the up-and-coming Jordan Love.
This game will be the Bears home opener after starting the first two weeks on the road. Another great opportunity for television networks to take advantage of Williams’ first-ever start against the Packers.
Week 7, October 17- Thursday Night Football- Home Seattle Seahawks
Rarely do you see a marquee match-up on Thursday Night Football, but this feels like an ideal spot to have two “pretty good” teams square off. A secondary storyline in this game can be offensive coordinator Shane Waldron facing off against his old team, which the telecast is sure to mention, but that isn’t exactly a storyline to have people in Kentucky making sure they tune in for the “Shane Waldron revenge game.”
Regardless, this should be two competitive teams facing off and a game that Amazon will happily accept in their collection of games this season.
Week 13, November 28- Thanksgiving- At Detroit Lions
This feels like a good season for the NFL to make the Lions and Bears a marquee Thanksgiving matchup. The Lions are coming off an NFC Championship appearance and the Bears were competitive in both games with Detroit last year.
This is a nice juicy division rivalry that should be two contending playoff teams to kick off everybody’s Thanksgiving holiday in the Midwest in style.
Week 15, December 15- Sunday Night Football- At Houston Texans
The quarterback the Chicago Bears passed on vs the quarterback the Chicago Bears selected. Everybody says the Bears could be this year’s Houston Texans, so why not have them match-up on Sunday Night Football?
NBC would drool over a CJ Stroud v Caleb Williams matchup. If both teams look the part in December, this could be a ratings bonanza, if things don’t work out for Chicago like the league is hoping, they could easily flex out of this one if need be.
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