Bears' Win-Loss Predictions for 2022 NFL Season (2024)

As soon as the Chicago Bears hired Matt Nagy to be their head coach, they had immediate success. In 2018, they went 12-4 and won the NFC North title. And although they lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs, there was optimism for the future.

But Chicago came nowhere close to reaching that level the past three seasons. It went 8-8 in both 2019 and 2020 (still reaching the postseason in the latter), before going 6-11 last year. That resulted in the Bears overhauling their staff, parting ways with Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace and replacing them with Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles, respectively.

So the 2022 season will mark the start of a new era in Chicago. After the Bears play their final preseason game (Saturday on the road vs. the Cleveland Browns), they'll ramp up their preparations for their regular-season opener at home against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 11.

How will Chicago fare this year? Here's a look at the Bears' full schedule, analysis regarding the team's outlook and predictions for the upcoming season.

Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers, Sept. 18 at 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC

Week 3: vs. Houston Texans, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Week 4: at New York Giants, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 6: vs. Washington Commanders, Oct. 13 at 8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video

Week 7: at New England Patriots, Oct. 24 at 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN

Week 8: at Dallas Cowboys, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 11: at Atlanta Falcons, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 12: at New York Jets, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 13: vs. Green Bay Packers, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 14: Bye

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills, Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Week 17: at Detroit Lions, Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Week 18: vs. Minnesota Vikings, Jan. 8 at TBD

The Bears aren't expected to win the NFC North this season. In fact, their odds to do so per DraftKings Sportsbook (+1500) are the longest of any team in the division. Even the Detroit Lions have better odds (+1000).

So external expectations aren't high for Chicago this season. And that makes sense.

Although the Bears have some exciting young players, many of them will need time to develop. That includes quarterback Justin Field, who endured some growing pains during his 2021 rookie campaign.

It may not help Fields that Chicago doesn't have a deep receiving corps. Darnell Mooney is the clear top player in that group, and tight end Cole Kmet could be in store for a breakout season. But beyond that, the Bears lack possible top playmakers on offense.

Chicago's defense will be boosted by the fact that linebacker Roquan Smith is now planning to play out the final year of his contract after previously making it known he wanted to be traded. That helps for 2022, but potentially not for the long term.

Overall, the Bears didn't make enough moves during the offseason to be a legitimate playoff contender. In fact, they signaled that they're going through a rebuild by trading elite pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers.

So it's not a surprise that DraftKings Sportsbook has the over/under for Chicago's wins at 6.5 heading into the season.

It's quite possible the Bears are going to struggle during NFC North play. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings appear to be much stronger teams, and even Detroit may end up being better than Chicago in 2022. So the Bears aren't guaranteed any wins there.

Fortunately for Chicago, there are some lighter non-division opponents on the schedule, especially early. In Weeks 3 and 4, the Bears take on the Houston Texans and New York Giants. They also have potentially winnable matchups against the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets in Weeks 11 and 12.

There's also a chance Chicago loses all those games, though. If Fields can't begin to make more processes, it could stunt the growth of the Bears' offense. On defense, they have a solid linebacker corps and some exciting young players in the secondary (rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker), but it's not exactly the most fearsome unit in the league.

So there will be some tough times in Chicago this year, as widely expected. The Bears may have some building blocks in place for future success, but not enough of those players will perform at a high enough level to get them to the playoffs this season.

Don't be surprised if Chicago ends up on the under side of that total wins line of 6.5. That will especially be the case if it ends up with only one or possibly even zero wins through the first four weeks of the season.

The Bears will finish in last place in the NFC North this year, but there will be brighter times ahead in the Eberflus era.

Prediction: Bears will finish 4-13

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