Sports Illustrated predicts the Bears will make the playoffs in 2024. Read why originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
On Thursday, Sports Illustrated published a team list they believe they will make the playoffs this season after missing the postseason last year, and the Bears made the cut. Unsurprisingly, the #1 reason is the new quarterback Caleb Williams.
“His first few talks with the organization were extremely positive, the Bears have improved the offense and Shane Waldron is a really skilled offense designer,” Connor Orr wrote.
In addition to Williams, the Bears added several other playmakers, including wide receiver Keenan Allen, running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett. Of course, the Bears will return almost every starter from their defense, which has become one of the best units in the league throughout the 2023 season.
The Bears also have the advantage of playing last, meaning they will play the other bottom teams in the conference. Several of those teams haven’t made the same level of personnel improvements as the Bears.
“Peppered throughout Chicago’s schedule are many winnable games and what I would like to consider “timeouts,” although I know that the mere mention of any NFL game as easy would make a coach’s blood boil,” he wrote. Orrr. “While the end of Williams’ first season will be brutal – with dates against Detroit (twice!), San Francisco and Green Bay – it will be the end of Williams’ first season. In theory, he will be better than he was in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.”
Of course, if the Bears make the playoffs this year, that necessarily means one of the NFC teams that qualified for the postseason last year will miss out this winter. Orr believes the Lions and Packers will still make the tournament, meaning the Bears would be the NFC North’s third team in the playoffs. He has the Cowboys as a strange team.
“Dallas is no longer noticeably better than the Giants,” Orr wrote. “The team’s list of opponents includes the Browns, 49ers, Lions, Ravens, Bengals and Atlanta Falcons, among others. The Cowboys can be considered underdogs in almost all of them. They have a weak coach, an overworked team on uncertain foundations and a crumbling foundation to support a great quarterback, wide receiver and pass rusher. That worries me.”
The Bears finished last year with a 7-10 record. The Packers reached the postseason with a 9-8 record, so if that ceiling is the same in 2024, the Bears will need to make a two-game improvement to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
