The Sun-Times’ experts predict the Bears’ 2023 record:
Rick Morrissey: 7-10
A four-victory improvement over the previous season is a big deal in the NFL, even for a team that went 3-14 the season before. The Bears will make strides on both sides of the ball, with an eye toward a big 2024.
Rick Telander: 8-9
Fields has been plagued by a weak offensive line, lousy wide receivers, multiple coaches, the need to run constantly, erratic passing, and … enough. It ends, kind of, now.
Scoop Jackson: 7-10
The Bears will have more “come to Jesus” moments during this season than they had last season. Those moments while some will turn into victories will be the ones that make this the final season of their unspoken “rebuild.” Making next year the year the Bears meet the overhyped expectations the fans are walking around the city/suburbs with.
Patrick Finley: 7-10
When the Bears take the field Sunday, they will have won one game in 349 days. Sure, some losses were close. Yes, their roster was barren. But this isn’t Coach Prime’s Buffaloes — gigantic one-year leaps rarely happen in the NFL.
Jason Lieser: 8-9
The sane range of outcomes for the Bears this season is five wins if everything goes haywire and 10 if all their decisions work out. There’s enough talent to keep things interesting deep into the season.
Mark Potash: 8-9
With upgrades throughout the lineup but a lot of new faces, the Bears are built to be better in the second half of the season than the first. The big question: How many one-score games can they win?
