2020 NFL schedule release: Detroit Lions divisional rivals
Chicago Bears
2020 Schedule:
Week 1 – @ DET / Week 2 – vs. NYG / Week 3 – @ ATL / Week 4 – vs. IND / Week 5 – vs. TB (TNF) / Week 6 – @ CAR / Week 7 – @ LAR (MNF) / Week 8 – vs. NO / Week 9 – @ TEN / Week 10 – vs. MIN (MNF) / Week 11 – BYE / Week 12 – @ GB (SNF) / Week 13 – vs. DET / Week 14 – vs. HOU / Week 15 – @ MIN / Week 16 – @ JAX / Week 17 – vs. GB
The Lions and Bears will meet in Week 1 for the first time since 2010, with Detroit looking for their first 1-0 start since 2017. Chicago will play three of its next four at Soldier Field, including a Week 5 Thursday night matchup with the Buccaneers as the first team in the division to get a look at Tom Brady out of a New England Patriots uniform.
Their schedule intensifies significantly afterward. They then play three of four on the road, with the home date coming against the Saints, one of the most complete teams in the league. In a strange twist, the Bears have just two divisional games prior to their late Week 11 bye, including a pivotal Monday night matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10.
They return from the bye with another important primetime tilt, this time traveling to Wisconsin to face the Green Bay Packers. The Bears have not won at Lambeau Field since 2015 and will likely need to at least split with both the Packers and Vikings to remain competitive in 2020.
Week 13 brings the second meeting between the Bears and Lions, and it will be fascinating to see which quarterback is under center for Chicago at this point in the season. Unhappy with the development of former second-overall selection Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears decided not to exercise his fifth-year contract option earlier this month.
Either to light a fire under Trubisky or to help keep their season afloat if they need to turn to him early, the Bears acquired Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles in March. The quarterback competition in Chicago is shaping up to be one of the league’s most interesting positional battles this season, and it could be the deciding factor in whether the Bears are able to bounce back from a disappointing 2019 campaign.