Chicago Bears 2019 Season Predictions: 2nd quarter

The NFL revealed their 2019 schedule last week, so we had to get in on the much-too-early Chicago Bears prediction fun. But to take it in a different direction, we wanted to break the schedule down into four easy to digest portions of prognostications. Former Bears head coach, Lovie Smith, used to like to break the schedule into four quarters — much like a football game — so we’re going to do the same thing here at WCG. And we’re also going to do it roundtable style to get more of our Bears experts involved in the process.

Most of us had the Bears going 4-0 to start the 2019 season, with none going less than 3-1 to start the year. To see what we said about the first quarter you can check that out here.

Here’s how the second quarter of the season will go for the Bears.

2nd Quarter

Week 5: at Oakland Raiders (in London), Sunday, Oct. 6, noon, FOX

Week 6: BYE

Week 7: vs. New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 20, 3:25 p.m. FOX

Week 8: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 27, noon, FOX

Week 9: at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Nov. 3, noon, FOX

(All times Central)

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. - (3-1, 7-1) Weeks 7-9 is the toughest stretch they’ll face on the season, but getting the Saints in Chicago after their bye, then the Chargers for a noon kickoff in Chicago favors the Bears. Revenge will be a factor in Philly, but that’s a tough place to play. Running the table on this stretch is tough, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Bears do it, but I think they’ll take the L in one of those big games.

Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter - (3-1, 7-1) Their long trip to London to play Oakland will be rough, but with that said, I expect Khalil Mack to produce huge numbers at this point in the season, and the Khalil Mack Revenge Game should be a fun one to watch. I’m not a fan of the Bears traveling to Philly, particularly if Carson Wentz is playing MVP caliber football like he did prior to his injuries. Neither the Saints nor Chargers will be easy, either. If they’re not careful, they could easily go 1-3 in this stretch.

Sam Householder - (2-2, 5-3) This is a rough stretch for sure, but I think the home field advantage helps them. Nagy made sure his team protected Soldier Field and I think that that will carry over and give them an edge in this quarter. Khalil Mack will likely be out for blood in London, the Chargers could take a step back with an aging Rivers, but Philadelphia is a tough place to play. I don’t think 3-1 is out of the realm of possibility, especially with Drew Brees possibly beginning to (maybe?) fade. But I’m not sure he is, though and even if not, that Saints team is loaded.

Ken Mitchell - (4-0, 8-0) London will be like a home game for Chicago, and Jon Gruden is an idiot. Nuff said there. I’d much rather have New Orleans here in Chicago, they are a very beatable team on the road. The Chargers are a good team, but Phillip Rivers is going to really struggle with Chicago’s pass rush. Philadelphia will be a really tough game, but I think our motivation from last year’s loss will fuel a defensive juggernaut.

Aaron Leming - (3-1, 6-2) This is going to be an interesting stretch. Clearly I think the Bears are better than the Raiders but the other three games are tossups. Luckily, two of those three will be at home, so I feel like a (2-1) stretch through those three games is very do-able. My guess is that the Eagles game is going to be the toughest.

Robert Schmitz - (2-2, 6-2) This may surprise some, but I’m not sold on the 2019 Saints. At some point age has to catch up with Brees, right? Compound that with how their offense slowed down once defenses realized that Brees struggles if you sell out to stop Kamara and Thomas, and I think they’ll disappoint. That said, I think LAC catches us riding high off the Saints win, partially because it’s still October. Not to quote a certain obnoxious radio guy, but California teams tend to play their best football in the first two months of the year -- I think Rivers gives us a bit more than we can handle and sends Bears fans back to Earth. Add in the Bears #revengegame against the Eagles going south due to a heroic Carson Wentz performance (gut feeling, can’t shake it) and I think we face Detroit (in week 10) a bit more nervous than we’d like.

Now it’s your turn. Give us your record prediction for the second quarter of the season in the comment section and a few sentences about why you feel the way you do.