The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the start of the 2023 NFL season against the Green Bay Packers, which kicks off a new era in the league’s oldest rivalry.
Despite finishing with a 3-14 season in 2022, there’s plenty of optimism surrounding the Bears in 2023. That has to do with improvements on offense and defense, as well as the expectation that quarterback Justin Fields is poised for a breakout season.
Buy Bears TicketsCan the Bears shock everyone and contend for a wide-open NFC North? Perhaps. But can they surprise everyone with a playoff appearance after winning three games a season ago? Maybe not just yet. Our Bears Wire staff shares their predictions for Chicago’s 2023 season.
Alyssa Barbieri
The Bears overhauled the roster this offseason, which means they should be significantly better than their three-win season from a year ago. When you look at the position groups on this roster, Chicago improved or remained consistent at every single one. When you look at what this team was able to do with one of the worst rosters in the NFL last season — giving some of the top teams in the league a scare — there’s no reason to believe that some of those one-score losses can become wins this season. I believe they should be contending for a playoff spot — you know, “in the hunt” — but they’re still a year away from making the postseason.
Granted, the Bears will ultimately go as far as quarterback Justin Fields takes them. While it’s not a make-or-break year for Fields, it’s an important one. After emerging as one of the league’s most dangerous playmakers with his elite rushing ability, Fields needs to improve as a passer. And Chicago has surrounded Fields with the talent to get that done. The addition of DJ Moore should do wonders for Fields and this offense, coupled with some other talented pass catchers in Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan.
While Chicago’s defense is much improved from a season ago, there are still concerns about getting after the quarterback and stopping the run. In the limited action we glimpsed the starters in preseason, there wasn’t much of a pass rush and they struggled to stop opposing ball carriers. But it’s preseason, so I’m not going to hold it against them just yet. But even with improvements along the front seven, the secondary is in a much better place than a season ago, especially with a cornerback group that’s trending up.
Overall, the Bears have a favorable schedule. Not that it’s worth much given the turnover in the league. Aside from some juggernauts, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, there are plenty of winnable games on this schedule for the Bears. While I have them finishing just one game under .500, I believe there’s a scenario where they finish 9-8. They’re reminding me of the 2022 Detroit Lions, a team that’s young, has talent but still isn’t ready to contend for a championship just yet.
Record prediction: 8-9
Brendan Sugrue
There’s no doubt in my mind that the 2023 Chicago Bears will be significantly improved after last year’s 3-14 record. It would be hard to be worse, right? The Bears overhauled their roster on both sides of the ball to bring in young and impactful playmakers who will keep this team competitive in most games throughout the season. The offense now features an upgraded receiving corps that will elevate the Bears’ passing attack with Justin Fields, while the defense has a core of young playmakers within the back seven who will challenge opposing skill players. What will likely hold this team back are the offensive and defensive lines, which are still works in progress.
As for the schedule, let’s not focus too much on the teams right now and instead look at the amount of rest the Bears will get. Because of two Thursday night games and a strategic Monday night game before a bye week, the Bears have nearly two weeks more rest than the opponents they’re facing this year, according to Brian Burke of ESPN. At least five games will have more than a week’s rest, and head coach Matt Eberflus was 2-1 when having more time to prepare last year. That rest could prove pivotal down the stretch when injuries become more of a factor.
As for the opponents, no one truly knows how a team is going to perform this year compared to last year. But there are some factors that are worth pointing out. For example, the Bears travel to Tampa Bay in Week 2 to take on the Buccaneers. Florida is extremely hot in September, and the heat could impact the Bears, even though they’re taking on a weaker Buccaneers team. They also play against Sean Payton, who has had their number for the past 15 years back when he was coaching the New Orleans Saints. And speaking of the Saints, the Bears face them at the Superdome, where they haven’t won since 1991. History only means so much for this current team, but it’s worth pointing out.
The Bears will go on various runs throughout the season that leave them with eight wins and eight losses. As for the tie? One game kept coming down to a coin flip, so it only felt right to leave it a draw.
Record prediction: 8-8-1
Lucas Hunt
The Chicago Bears are in for quite the interesting season. The Bears are in what I would call the “year before the year.”, meaning that the club has the foundational pieces in place that will lead to continual success, but they aren’t quite there yet. The Bears have dynamic skill players, a rising defense that is young and has the benefit of growing together, and a franchise quarterback that is expected to take a big leap this season.
While the cornerstones are certainly in place, the team still lacks talent and depth at key positions. The most glaring issue is a suspect defensive line group that only has two pass-rushers that can be relied on to pressure the quarterback every week, those being Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker. As superhuman as NFL players appear they are not invincible, so the duo will be rotated out with other players in the unit, which is where the problem lies.
The offensive line is an area of concern in its own right. The big guys in the trenches finally hit a stroke of luck when head coach Matt Eberflus declared that almost every starter will be at 100% when the Bears host the Packers in Week 1, with guard Teven Jenkins being the exception, ironically enough. The Bears chiseled out 2022’s abysmal offensive line group into a unit that looks to be more respectable this season. Rookie first round pick Darnell Wright rounds out a youthful line that consists of third and second-year pros Larry Borom and Braxton Jones, among others. Even still, the question marks involving the unit’s cohesiveness, youth, and durability can’t be ignored.
With all of those factors considered, I believe the Bears will finish the season with an 8-9 record. I think the Bears will demonstrate their growth as a team with statement wins against the Packers in Week 1 and the Vikings in Week 12, but crumble against top contenders like the Chargers in Week 8 and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 3.
Though Chicago will have more losses than wins in 2023, the season will not be considered a failure. The offense will evolve and the defense will ascend, opening the doorway for a successful 2024 season.
Record prediction: 8-9
Ryan Fedrau
I’ve gone back and forth with my prediction for the Bears this season. My original thought was, they’d win seven-to-eight games this year, fix the remaining issues next offseason and be a playoff team in 2024. As the regular season approaches, my excitement might be getting the better of me – which could be clouding my judgment. With that being said, I’m going with my gut on this one, 8-9, due to many factors.
The first factor comes from the Bears’ schedule being uneasy down the stretch. They could very well go into November 5-3, and only come out with wins against the Panther, Cardinals, and Falcons to finish the season.
The second factor is, we have no idea what to expect from this defense. If they are an upgrade from what the team had to start last season, every game will be winnable. If they’re a shell of themselves, like they were to finish the season, it’s going to be a long year.
The final, and most important, factor is Justin Fields. There’s no telling what we’re going to get from him. Fields has shown signs of being an elite quarterback, but that hasn’t translated into wins. It hasn’t been consistent. Yes, he ran the ball well last season – but he had just 17 passing touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 15 starts. The air attack needs to improve. People around him have said he will be a much improved quarterback in 2023. If he is, this team has a lot of potential and will be successful.
