West Coast Reunion with Matthew Stafford
It will be a battle of teams with new quarterbacks, the only question from the Bears side of it is which new quarterback.
Although the NFL schedule is officially released Wednesday, May 12 at 7 p.m., the network partners are given the right to an early announcement about the opening week and the Bears will be opening on Sunday Night Football in Los Angeles against the Rams.
So, they'll face Matthew Stafford in his new surroundings and the Bears quarterback will be either Andy Dalton or Justin Fields. Of course, if everything said to this point means anything it will be Dalton facing Stafford and staring at a pass rush which includes Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd, while being protected by at least one rookie tackle, if not two.
There are other intriguing aspects to this. The Rams had the No. 1 defense in the league last year, but they no longer have their defensive coordinator as Brandon Staley is the head coach of the other team occupying SoFi Stadium, the Chargers. Meanwhile, the Bears are switching their scheme back to more of the type used last year by the Rams and used by Vic Fangio in Chicago in 2018 with Sean Desai in his first game as defensive coordinator.
"They've always been great games," Desai said Wednesday morning. "Obviously going against Matt for the years I've been going against him he's obviously a great player."
The Bears already know their opponents and one of the dates. They face the third-toughest schedule in the NFL based on last year's opponents. Those teams had a 149-122-1 record last year.
Bears Home Opponents
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Arizona Cardinals
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
San Francisco 49ers
New York Giants
Bears Road Opponents
Los Angeles Rams (Sept. 12, 7:20 p.m.)
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Las Vegas Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
