The beginning of August is not only the last month of the summer but also the beginning of a new football season. 

Each year the majority of teams in the National Football League (NFL) start with the same goal: to win their division. There are eight total divisions in the NFL, equally divided between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each division crowns a champion at the end of the season to determine which teams compete for the ultimate prize: a trip to the Super Bowl. 

Last season, the Chicago Bears won their division, the NFC North. While the Bears lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2018-19 playoffs, the Bears are looking forward to a new and successful season.  

The Bears organization lost a number of components of the successful season during the off-season. According to ProFootballFocus, the Bears had the best defensive unit in the NFL during the 2018-19 season. This defensive structure will likely be heavily tested this year due to the departure of Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio and two defensive players, strong safety Adrian Amos, and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan. Adam Rank, a commentator on the NFL Network, suggests that the Bears record is likely to range from 11-5 to 13-3. Projecting a team record is generally considered more of an art than a science, as it depends deeply upon how the new coaching staff works together and injuries among players. 

In addition to ranking the Bears’ defense number one, ProFootballFocus ranked the Bears offensive unit 11th best in the NFL. Members of the Bears coaching staff hypothesize that the Bears fixed the two most significant offensive weaknesses during the off-season. The first weakness was a lack of playbook familiarity, which was evidenced by points and yards left on the field. According to panelists on “Good Morning Football,” these points and yards could have made a major difference in the Bears offense and helped to offset the challenge of learning an offensive scheme week by week while also preparing for games. With more experience under his belt, head coach Matt Nagy suggests that third-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will be comfortable running new plays in the fast pace Bears offense. As a result, the players will focus more on the matchups, creating specific game plans each week, and experiencing more success in passing and scoring. 

According to Bears receiver Taylor Gabriel, the offense, including the continued growth of Trubisky, have made substantial progress. “Us having a second year under our belt—the terminology it’s expanded, it’s more detailed,” Gabriel said. “We know what Mitch wants. Mitch can kind of feel our speed, the tempo of what we’re doing. We’re connecting and also going outside the playbook of what [Matt] Nagy drew upon the lines…It’s kind of turned into ‘our offense.’”

According to Adam Rank, the second weakness was in the Bears run game. An underdeveloped run game often puts stress on the passing game, specifically the quarterback. If a team lacks efficiency running the football, the defense is able to adjust their personnel in a pass-heavy defensive scheme. Demonstrated by NFL history, a dangerous run game is a requirement for a great offense. The first-place New Orleans Saints are a prime example of the importance of a run-game. With Saints running back Alvin Kamara, the number of touchdowns scored by the Saints increased by more than 30 percent compared to 2015 and Drew Brees threw four fewer interceptions. Statistics show that as the Saints were able to develop a strong rushing game, the opposing defenses were kept guessing, hence a stronger passing game. To address this weakness, the Bears drafted running back David Montgomery in the third round of the 2019 Draft. Compared to running back Jordan Howard, who was considered by opposing defensive players, “too easy to guess.” If history repeats, the stronger Bears run-game will improve their passing and their ability to win games.

The new NFL season is fast approaching, and as is true every year, the landscape of the league has the potential to shift drastically. Just one emerging superstar, such as Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, or the surprising decline of an aging veteran, such as Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara, could alter the course of the entire season for all 32 teams. The fun of being a football fan is watching it all unfold and cheering for your team to make it all the way to the Super Bowl in Miami.