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Chicago Bears
Last Season: 6-10
Fourth place, NFC North
Preseason power ranking: 29
A ton of stuff must happen for the Bears to reach the postseason for the first time since 2010: On offense, quarterback Jay Cutler limits turnovers, running back Jeremy Langford tallies 1,200 all-purpose yards, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery catches 85 passes for 1,300 receiving yards, unproven second-year wide receiver Kevin White really is a budding superstar, Zach Miller's play makes you forget about traded tight end Martellus Bennett, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains is the second-coming of Adam Gase, and the offensive line dodges further serious injuries. On defense, the Bears increase their numbers of takeaways and sacks.
The Bears are thin. Coach John Fox’s team suffered a high number of injuries last year, and the trend continued in the preseason. Only three projected starters on offense have been to a Pro Bowl – Kyle Long, Jeffery and Cutler. On defense, the Bears do not have a single Pro Bowl player. The club also lost Matt Forte, Matt Slauson and Bennett in the offseason. The bottom line is the Bears have a small number of proven playmakers on both sides of the football. Internally, the Bears believe they have a playoff-caliber team. They will no doubt be competitive. But the NFC North is a difficult division. The Bears may be one more offseason away from fielding a roster that can contend against the Packers and Vikings.
Bears’ percentage chance to win each game
Sept. 11 @ Houston: 31.1
Sept. 19 vs. Philadelphia: 60.7
Sept. 25 @ Dallas: 42.9
Oct. 2 vs. Detroit: 60.3
Oct. 9 @ Indianapolis: 29.8
Oct. 16 vs. Jacksonville: 52.2
Oct. 20 @ Green Bay: 24.8
Oct. 31 vs. Minnesota: 53.7
Nov. 13 @ Tampa Bay: 40.1
Nov. 20 @ N.Y. Giants: 36.9
Nov. 27 vs. Tennessee: 63.9
Dec. 4 vs. San Francisco: 66.4
Dec. 11 @ Detroit: 42.9
Dec. 18 vs. Green Bay: 41.1
Dec. 24 vs. Washington: 57.4
Jan. 1 @ Minnesota: 33.8
Jeff Dickerson’s game-by-game predictions
What? Are we sure about a confidence rating this high with exciting-as-rye-toast Cutler still under center? His underwhelming career includes one 4,000-yard season … eight years ago. But the Bears get a bump because Brian Hoyer might be the league’s best backup. -- Dan Graziano
Jeffery. If Jeffery can stay healthy, the Bears have a special player at receiver. There is a reason the Bears applied the franchise tag. Jeffery has the ninth-highest number of receiving yards (3,361) since 2013. And he’s looking to get paid somewhere next year, unless the Bears use the tag for another year. The perfect storm is brewing for Jeffery to have a monster season, but only if he can avoid injury.
It better be White. He has to be a superstar. White, the No. 7 pick in 2015, did not play as a rookie because of a stress fracture. Now healthy, White is the No. 2 receiver next to Jeffery. Cutler has said on multiple occasions that he likes White, so White can expect a fair number of targets in the regular season. He has to produce. That’s the burden of being a top-10 draft choice.
One of Fox’s catchphrases is that, “He wants to understate and overproduce.” Well, the Bears have definitely been understated in the preseason. It’s hard to remember a Bears team that had less buzz surrounding it. Maybe that’s the price for missing the playoffs eight out of the past nine years – Chicago has reached the postseason only five times since the club fired Mike Ditka in 1992 -- and the Cubs whipping the city up into a frenzy. The Bears handed Fox complete control in the aftermath of the Marc Trestman debacle. It’s Fox’s show, for better or worse. The Bears don’t have to “overproduce” necessarily. They just need to produce more than seven or eight wins for the season to be a success.