I like what the Bears have done. They’ve got the great defense, which has been able to smother some teams, and Matt Nagy has been able to scheme the offense to success in a lot of games. But it’s also a team that’s benefited from scheduling.
Chicago’s first 14 games have been against teams that have gone 80-99-3, the worst combined record in the league. (This is after setting aside Chicago’s 10-4 record, so those teams have actually gone 84-109-3 overall, which is even worse – to level the field, I have removed each team’s own record out of its schedule.)
I’m not saying the Bears can’t potentially hang with the Saints and Rams; both of those teams seem to be tailing off. But Chicago has probably been helped along the way by not having to play as many strong opponents.
The Rams and Raiders, meanwhile, have played the league’s hardest schedules, with the Broncos and Bengals just behind.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (Weeks 1-15) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Chicago | 80 | 99 | 3 | .448 |
San Francisco | 81 | 99 | 2 | .451 |
Washington | 84 | 97 | 1 | .464 |
Indianapolis | 86 | 96 | 0 | .473 |
Arizona | 86 | 94 | 2 | .478 |
Miami | 86 | 94 | 2 | .478 |
Carolina | 87 | 93 | 2 | .484 |
NY Jets | 87 | 93 | 2 | .484 |
Detroit | 88 | 92 | 2 | .489 |
Seattle | 88 | 92 | 2 | .489 |
Houston | 89 | 92 | 1 | .492 |
Minnesota | 89 | 92 | 1 | .492 |
Pittsburgh | 89 | 92 | 1 | .492 |
New Orleans | 89 | 91 | 2 | .495 |
Atlanta | 89 | 90 | 3 | .497 |
Baltimore | 89 | 90 | 3 | .497 |
Green Bay | 90 | 91 | 1 | .497 |
LA Chargers | 90 | 90 | 2 | .500 |
NY Giants | 91 | 91 | 0 | .500 |
Buffalo | 91 | 89 | 2 | .505 |
Philadelphia | 92 | 89 | 1 | .508 |
Dallas | 93 | 89 | 0 | .511 |
Kansas City | 93 | 87 | 2 | .516 |
Tampa Bay | 93 | 87 | 2 | .516 |
Tennessee | 94 | 88 | 0 | .516 |
New England | 94 | 85 | 3 | .525 |
Cleveland | 96 | 85 | 1 | .530 |
Jacksonville | 96 | 85 | 1 | .530 |
Cincinnati | 96 | 84 | 2 | .533 |
Denver | 96 | 84 | 2 | .533 |
LA Rams | 97 | 83 | 2 | .538 |
Oakland | 97 | 83 | 2 | .538 |
—Ian Allan