Predicting the Chicago Bears 2021 Schedule

Anxious to know the Bears 2021 schedule? Here's a rundown of the opponents and a projection for what it may look like week-by-week.

Author:
Aalap Desai
Publish date:
Apr 9, 2021 8:46 PM EDT

Chicago Bears 2021 Schedule — Photo: ABC 7 Chicago

Under normal circumstances, football fans would be anticipating the release of the NFL schedule in just a few days considering that it's already Mid-April. However, the schedule came out a few weeks later than usual in 2020 due to quirks brought about by COVID-19. In 2021, the NFL added a 17th game to the docket. That development threw a wrench in the schedule-makers' plans to release this year's schedule on time.

Now with the full slate of games expected to drop in the second week of May, all fans can do is wait. In the meantime, fans can enjoy the NFL Draft, which takes place in just 21 days.

Even though there isn't a schedule expected for another month, that doesn't mean Bears can't have fun building their own. So that's just what we're going to do. First things first... who are the Bears' opponents in 2021?

2021 Opponents

The Chicago Bears will have an uneven number of home and away contests this year due to the 17-game schedule. The NFL has decided the NFC will have more away games in odd-numbered years and the AFC will have more away games in even-numbered years.

NFC North (6 games)

The usual suspects at home and away.


Home	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings	Detroit Lions
Away	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings	Detroit Lions

NFC West (4 games)

However, the NFC North teams face all four teams from the other NFC divisions on three-year rotation. Hence, this year---for the Bears---it's the NFC West.


Home	Arizona Cardinals	San Francisco 49ers
Away	Seattle Seahawks	Los Angeles Rams

AFC North (4 games)

Similarly, the NFC North teams will face all four teams from an AFC division on a four-year rotation. In 2021, the Bears draw AFC North.


Home	Cincinnati Bengals	Baltimore Ravens
Away	Cleveland Browns	Pittsburgh Steelers

Intra-Conference(2 games)

In general, the NFC North teams face their counterpart (based on standings) from the other NFC divisions they weren't scheduled to play. During this particular season, it'll be the NFC East and NFC South teams.

Since the Bears finished in second place in the NFC North in 2020, they'll play the respective second-place teams from 2020 in those divisions.

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Home	New York Giants
Away	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Home	N/A
Away	Las Vegas Raiders

Schedule Prediction

Now, here comes the fun part. While it's more or less just randomly throwing together a schedule, this exercise does require a certain level of logic and understanding of the NFL. For example, the NFL always features divisional games in the final week of the season.

Without further ado, here it is -- an attempt at piecing together a 2021 schedule for the Chicago Bears.


Week	Date	Opponent
1	9/12	vs. Cincinnati Bengals
2	9/19	vs. Arizona Cardinals
3	9/26	at Pittsburgh Steelers
4	10/3	at Seattle Seahawks
5	10/11	vs. Minnesota Vikings	MNF
6	10/17	at Detroit Lions
7	10/24	vs. New York Giants
8	10/31	BYE WEEK
9	11/7	at Green Bay Packers	SNF
10	11/14	vs. Detroit Lions
11	11/21	vs. Baltimore Ravens	MNF
12	11/28	at Los Angeles Rams
13	12/5	vs. San Francisco 49ers
14	12/9	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TNF
15	12/19	at Cleveland Browns
16	12/25	vs. Green Bay Packers	Sat.
17	1/2	at Las Vegas Raiders
18	1/9	at Minnesota Vikings

Conclusion

Obviously, generating a logical schedule is a tougher task than it seems. It's not trivial at all. However, in this case, This schedule wasn't just thrown together. It took a little bit of research into the past ten seasons and finding certain trends, tendencies, and patterns of NFL scheduling (as far as the Bears are concerned).

The making of an NFL schedule is an art and a science. It takes the human element and the computer to work in sync to get all the games to fit. Kudos to those who are tasked with generating one for all 32 teams at the league offices.

As far as this schedule goes, Andy Dalton (presumably) would face his former team in Week 1 at Soldier Field. Who says no?

What about the Bears having five primetime games again? Yeah, that might be a bit of a stretch considering how poorly they've performed under the bright lights lately. However, considering the marquee matchups they have this year, they might still be a draw. Especially for the major networks that love being super critical of the Bears and piling on to the constant misery. If laughing at the Bears and their fans is what you're after, this is just what the doctor ordered... and you know who you are.

So Bears fans, the question is... how do we feel about this potential schedule? What would you change and/or how would yours look? Let us know in the comments or Twitter replies.