Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
The Bears are tied for the third-easiest schedule in the NFL this season — based on their opponents’ 2023 records (135-154, .467). Even by expectations — their opponents’ 2024 season Vegas win totals — their schedule is tied for the sixth-easiest (8.21 wins).
That statistic, though, has not been very predictive. The five teams with the easiest schedules heading into the 2023 season went a combined 41-44 (.482) in the regular season, with four of them missing the playoffs.
But the lone team in that group that made the playoffs is the one that continually breathes life into the Bears’ hopes as a potential Cinderella in 2024 — the Houston Texans, who went from 3-13-1 in 2023 to 10-7 with a playoff victory in 2024 under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.