2011 Chicago Bears Schedule


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The Chicago Bears are coming off a very solid 11-5 campaign from the 2010-11 NFL season. That mark was good enough to win the NFC North and save head coach Tubby Smith’s job in the process. They beat the Seattle Seahawks 35-24 in the NFC Divisional Round behind a tremendous offensive performance from Jay Cutler. The Bears would get to host the NFC Championship, but they lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay by a final of 21-14.

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz was brought in to resurrect an offense that had previously been stagnant over the last several years. While the offense looked good at times, it was the defense that really carried Chicago to the NFC title game. They used a bend-but-don’t-break approach and finished ranked fourth in the league in points allowed (17.9). The offense didn’t give them much help overall as the Bears ranked 30th in yards (289.4) per game and 21st in points (20.9) per contest.

Cutler took care of the ball a lot better last season and the Bears did have a decent ground attack behind Matt Forte as well. You have to give the offense credit for what it did behind a makeshift offensive line that was plagued by injuries all year. That offense is going to have to shoulder a lot more of the load this season because the defense is only getting older. It’s time to take a look at the Bears’ schedule for the 2011-12 season to see if they can match or exceed what they did a year ago.

Chicago finished with a 5-1 record against their division which is quite an accomplishment. Their only loss came in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers in a meaningless game for them outside of the rivalry. The Bears already had the division and a first-round bye wrapped up, but give them credit for going out there and trying to win that game to prevent the Packers from making the playoffs. I certainly don’t expect another 5-1 record out of them this season in the NFC North as both the Packers and the Detroit Lions will be improved. They should sweep the season series with Minnesota, but don’t expect anything better than a 4-2 record in their six division games.

The Bears are set to take on the four teams from the NFC South this year. They face the Atlanta Falcons at home in Week 1 and the New Orleans Saints on the road in Week 2 for a brutal start to the season. They should be happy just to split those two games. Chicago will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 before traveling to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. I see the Bears being favored in two games and an underdog in two, thus finishing with a 2-2 record against the NFC South.

The other division they will tangle with is the AFC West. This is where they catch a break as the West has been down for nearly a decade. It is steadily improving with the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders all capable of making noise. The Bears get to host the two best teams in that division in the Chiefs and Chargers in games they will likely be favored in. Chicago hits the road to face the Raiders and Denver Broncos later in the season. While there’s a good chance Chicago will be favored in every one of those games, I don’t expect them to finish any better than 3-1.

Last but not least, the Bears have games against the division winners in the NFC East and NFC West. Chicago will be an underdog in their road meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles, but should be heavily favored in a home rematch with the Seattle Seahawks. After looking through their schedule, I have the Bears finishing right at 10-6 this season.

2011 Preseason Schedule
Week Date Opponent Time (ET)
0 Sunday, August 7 @ St. Louis Rams 8:00 PM
1 Saturday, August 13 Buffalo Bills 8:00 PM
2 Monday, August 22 @ New York Giants 8:00 PM
3 Saturday, August 27 @ Tennessee Titans 8:00 PM
4 Thursday, September 1 Cleveland Browns 8:00 PM
2011 Regular Season Schedule
Week Date Opponent Time (ET)
1 Sunday, September 11 Atlanta Falcons 1:00 PM
2 Sunday, September 18 @ New Orleans Saints 1:00 PM
3 Sunday, September 25 Green Bay Packers 4:15 PM
4 Sunday, October 2 Carolina Panthers 1:00 PM
5 Monday, October 10 @ Detroit Lions 8:30 PM
6 Sunday, October 16 Minnesota Vikings 8:20 PM
7 Sunday, October 23 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 PM
8 BYE WEEK
9 Monday, November 7 @ Philadelphia Eagles 8:30 PM
10 Sunday, November 13 Detroit Lions 1:00 PM
11 Sunday, November 20 San Diego Chargers 4:15 PM
12 Sunday, November 27 @ Oakland Raiders 4:05 PM
13 Sunday, December 4 Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 PM
14 Sunday, December 11 @ Denver Broncos 4:05 PM
15 Sunday, December 18 Seattle Seahawks 1:00 PM
16 Sunday, December 25 @ Green Bay Packers 8:20 PM
17 Sunday, January 1 @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 PM

More NFL Team Schedules

AFC
AFC West AFC North AFC South AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs Pittsburgh Steelers Indianapolis Colts New England Patriots
San Diego Chargers Baltimore Ravens Jacksonville Jaguars New York Jets
Oakland Raiders Cleveland Browns Houston Texans Miami Dolphins
Denver Broncos Cincinnati Bengals Tennessee Titans Buffalo Bills
NFC
NFC West NFC North NFC South NFC East
Seattle Seahawks Chicago Bears Schedule Atlanta Falcons Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams Green Bay Packers New Orleans Saints New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers Detroit Lions Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dallas Cowboys
Arizona Cardinals Minnesota Vikings Carolina Panthers Washington Redskins

 

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