The NFL has gotten increasingly analytical in its schedule creation process, and yet all of its supposed “supercomputers” couldn’t prevent the league from repeatedly showcasing the Chicago Bears on national television last season.
At least Taylor Swift gave cameras something else to show during the Chiefs’ 41-10 romp over Chicago in “America’s Game of the Week” on Fox in Week 3. Five Sundays later, it was NBC’s turn to find something else to talk about as the Chargers anticlimactically handled the Bears, 30-13, on Sunday Night Football.
Later came a Monday Night Football tilt with Minnesota, which Chicago won without scoring a touchdown. “With the Benny Hill music playing in the background, this game is over,” Joe Buck said as the final whistle blew following a series of Vikings laterals that went nowhere. “Thankfully,” Troy Aikman chuckled.
TV executives could’ve seen it coming. From 2006 to 2018, no team appeared on MNF more often than the Bears, despite the fact the team finished better than 15th in total offense only once over that stretch. Chicago’s place as a historic franchise in the NFL’s biggest single-team city has made it a frequent national TV star, though the team logged just three playoff wins going back 30 seasons.
When will the NFL and TV networks learn to stop putting the Chicago Bears in prime time?, the Chicago Tribune asked last year. Well, not anytime soon. Even if TV executives’ specific requests play a smaller role in the process as the league programs an expanded suite of primetime affairs using increasingly advanced modeling technology, we’ll likely see the Bears plenty more this season.
By the AP’s accounting, the Bears had the best draft this weekend, grabbing prized USC QB prospect Caleb Williams first overall (the team previously traded with Carolina for what became the No. 1 pick) and following that up with a wide receiver for him to target (Washington’s Rome Odunze) as well as a lineman to protect him (Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie).
Bears fans showed their excitement by helping Williams break Fanatics’ record for draft night merchandise sales, though specific numbers weren’t released. Williams’ play could even impact local politics as Chicago and its NFL team discuss a potential new stadium project. For now, seats in the league’s smallest venue by capacity will likely become a hot ticket.
With draft festivities in the rear view, the NFL world pivots to scheduling season. The league generally doesn’t commit to a release date, but it has consistently unveiled its calendar in the second week of May.
And after its A+ draft, Chicago seems likely to get top billing several more times this year. As always, there are rivalry games with a resurgent Packers franchise to book in primetime, as well as matchups with this year’s other top rookie QBs, Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) and Drake Maye (New England Patriots).
Each of those prospects also landed in marquee destinations. The Patriots are the fourth-most valuable franchise, while the Commanders sit in seventh, with the Bears right behind them, according to Sportico’s most recent NFL valuations.
In past years, the draft has brought Pro Bowl quarterbacks to smaller franchises like the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. This year, it seems the rich have gotten richer.