NEWSLETTER
15The final week of the preseason is here, which means time is running out for you to get your predictions in for the upcoming NFL season. And while I am usually 100 percent here for outlandishly ridiculously predictions, this one stopped me in my tracks.
Sports Illustrated’s print edition with its 2019 NFL season forecast is out, and it’s a gloomy picture for the 2019 Chicago Bears. The immediate future doesn’t look great for the Bears, who are predicted to be the last-place finisher in the NFC North with a 7-9 record. That’s right, SI.com’s NFL preview envisions the Bears going from 12-4 division champs on the cusp of greatness in 2018, to preseason Super Bowl contenders, to finishing behind the Vikings (11-5), Packers (10-6), and even the Lions (9-7) this season. Say word?
This set of predictions isn’t sitting well with Bears fans, who have shared their feelings on Twitter:
How disrespectful! It's crazy how Sports Illustrated could place the Bears at 4th in the NFC North. I guess we'll have to prove them wrong again! @ChicagoBears @SInow #BearDown #ChicagoBears @FiftyDeuce pic.twitter.com/T8nd4jqzZJ
— EikeyX ✪ (@EikeyX) August 25, 2019
Sports Illustrated predicting the Chicago Bears finish 7-9 and dead last in the NFC North is maybe the worst take since Portland took Sam Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/ipQS5yHiR1
— Theo Marshall (@ImTheoMarshall) August 24, 2019
.@SInow has the #Bears finishing at 7-9 in 4th place in the NFC North. That’s pretty tough to understand. They’re expecting heavy defensive regression and there was no mention of the best safety in football.
— James Fox (@JamesFox917) August 24, 2019
I’m not sure when “regression” and “bad” became interchangeable terms in the eyes of football analysts, but if words don’t mean anything any more, then I’ve got a bad feeling about things moving forward. Regression shouldn’t mean going from a projected Super Bowl contender to one of the worst teams in football. But apparently, here we are.
The powers that be at Sports Illustrated aren’t the first to signal that the regression monster is coming for the Bears this season, but predicting a last-place finish after what we saw in 2018 takes it to another level.
