Bears 2023 schedule watchability rankings: Which games are the most intriguing?

The Bears are back … on national television.

The 2023 schedule release included four prime-time games and three late-afternoon kickoffs for the Bears, reflecting a sense that the networks want not only the Chicago market but quarterback Justin Fields.

This is the first year teams can play twice on Thursday night, and the Bears are one of those teams, with games at the Commanders (Week 5) and at home against the Panthers (Week 10). They also play at the Chargers on Sunday night in Week 8 and at the Vikings on Monday night in Week 13, which wraps up Thanksgiving weekend.

Anyway, here are the 10th annual “Watchability Rankings,” which are still waiting for their Pulitzer, as we use a very scientific method to find the best games on the schedule.

Prime-time game: 5 points
2022 playoff team: 3 points
“Revenge game”: 1-5 points depending on the revenge factor
Marquee opposing quarterback: 2 points
Packers: 2 points
Season opener: 2 points
Christmas weekend: 2 points
Late-afternoon kickoff: 1 point
Vikings or Lions: 1 point
New Year’s weekend: 1 point
Home opener: 1 point

1. Week 8 at Chargers — 12 points

(2022 playoff team, prime-time game, revenge game, marquee opposing quarterback)

I bet you didn’t expect this to be No. 1. I didn’t either — in fact, it wasn’t originally. This writer forgot about the Chargers’ 2022 postseason appearance, in which they blew a 27-0 lead against the Jaguars. That playoff game ultimately catapulted them to No. 1 here. While the season opener probably should be No. 1, we’ll abide by the scoring system. This is the Bears’ only “Sunday Night Football” game on the schedule in their first game against Khalil Mack since last year’s trade, and they’ll face former assistant Brandon Staley. Who remembers Jay Cutler’s touchdown pass to Zach Miller, which the tight end corralled with one hand, on “Monday Night Football” in 2015? That turned out to be the Bears’ final trip to San Diego, and it was a victory.

2. Week 1 vs. Packers — 9 points

(Packers, season opener, home opener, late-afternoon kickoff, revenge game)

How rare is it for the Bears to open the season with a late-afternoon kickoff? You’ve got to go back to 1995 for the last Week 1 game at Soldier Field that didn’t kick off at noon or under the lights. It will be the national game on Fox, something the Bears haven’t had in a while, either. This will be a monumental “how good are these quarterbacks?” game between the rivals. We’ll add in the revenge-game storylines for Robert Tonyan, Adrian Amos and Pat O’Donnell to boost this game on our list.

Quick thoughts on the 2023 Bears schedule, and an obligatory record prediction! https://t.co/MkvHpZ5T7M

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) May 12, 2023

3. Week 3 at Chiefs — 9 points

(2022 playoff team, late-afternoon kick, revenge game, marquee opposing quarterback)

Which storyline is your favorite? Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes against the team that could have drafted him; Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy against the team that fired him; Bears general manager Ryan Poles against the team that gave him his start. There are juicy narratives and revenge games within the game for the Bears’ first trip to K.C. since 2015, when Cutler made this absurd throw.

4. Week 13 at Vikings — 9 points

(Prime-time game, 2022 playoff team, Vikings)

This is the fifth Monday night game between the Bears and Vikings in the past eight seasons, but the previous four took place at Soldier Field. The last Monday nighter in Minnesota was a 40-16 Bears win in 2010.

5. Week 10 vs. Panthers — 8 points

(Prime-time game, marquee opposing quarterback, revenge game)

Bryce Young vs. Fields. DJ Moore’s revenge game against his former team. Andy Dalton’s long-awaited return to Soldier Field. Amazon Prime will have plenty of narratives to choose from.

Justin Fields and the Bears will get another crack at the Commanders in prime time in 2023. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

6. Week 5 at Commanders — 5 points

(Prime-time game)

Here’s hoping this matchup is more exciting than last year’s 12-7 Commanders win at Soldier Field. It’s another matchup against former Bear Ron Rivera, but that’s where the storylines end with these teams. Last time at FedEx Field, the Bears won 31-14 on “Monday Night Football” in 2019.

7. Week 18 at Packers — 4 points

(Packers, revenge game)

This is the seventh time since 1998 that the Bears and Packers will end the season against one another. The Packers are 6-0 against the Bears in Week 17, including, most recently, the 35-16 win to end the 2020 season. Maybe Week 18 will change the Bears’ luck. The actual watchability of this game will be determined by how much it matters.

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8. Week 6 vs. Vikings — 4 points

(Vikings, 2022 playoff team)

How good will the Vikings be in 2023? They’re the only division team that made the postseason in 2022. If both teams get off to fast starts, this could be a massive noon game. Otherwise, there’s not a ton of luster to this game. The Vikings are kind of boringly good. Kirk Cousins is 5-2 in his career at Soldier Field and has won three in a row in Chicago.

9. Week 16 vs. Cardinals — 4 points

(Christmas weekend, marquee opposing quarterback, late-afternoon kick)

The Bears get another 3:25 p.m. kickoff, this time on Christmas Eve. When the Cardinals last came to Soldier Field, Kyler Murray threw 15 passes — he completed 11 of them, two for touchdowns, while running for two more in a 33-22 Arizona win. Will this game just be about the Cardinals’ draft position as they look ahead to 2024?

10. Week 12 at Lions — 3 points

(Revenge game, Lions)

The foolproof scoring system doesn’t account for a team on the rise, like the Lions, who host the Bears at noon in mid-November. But, as commenter Jack Z. reminded me, there’s a big revenge game factor here for David Montgomery facing his former team. This could be a pretty watchable game if Detroit plays up to its expectations and the Bears are still in the thick of things when they travel to Ford Field. If anything, they’ll want to forget about last year’s debacle (a 41-10 loss).

The Lions swept the season series from the Bears last season. (Lon Horwedel / USA Today)

11. Week 14 vs. Lions — 3 points

(Revenge game, Lions)

Two Lions games in four weeks, and this one comes off the Bears’ Week 13 bye. It’ll be Montgomery’s return to Soldier Field, and the Bears’ first home game in more than a month, but also will be the start of a stretch of three home games in four weeks. It’ll be their first home game in more than a month but also will be the start of a stretch of three home games in four weeks. Lions quarterback Jared Goff is 4-3 against the Bears in his career and 1-2 at Soldier Field.

12. Week 7 vs. Raiders — 3 points

(Revenge game)

Thanks to the trip to Las Vegas in ’21, the first 17-game season, this is the third Bears-Raiders matchup in five seasons, and at three different stadiums. It’ll be hometown hero Jimmy Garoppolo’s third start at Soldier Field — he was 2-0 with the 49ers when returning to Chicago. The Raiders haven’t been to Chicago since 2015, a 22-20 Bears win on a Robbie Gould game winner, the first win for John Fox as head coach. This does get some revenge-game points for some former Bears, including a couple of fan favorites: Jesper Horsted, Alex Bars, Bilal Nichols and Duke Shelley.

13. Week 17 vs. Falcons — 3 points

(Revenge game, New Year’s weekend)

Ring in the new year with the former Bears on the Falcons: Cordarrelle Patterson, Eddie Goldman (he’s back!), Germain Ifedi and Jalen Dalton. Ryan Pace and Phil Emery are still in the front office, with former Bears coaches Dave Ragone, Michael Pitre and Mike Snyder on the coaching staff. So it’s not as much as last year, but still a pretty good contingent will be coming to Chicago. The Falcons were last in Chicago for the 2017 season opener.

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14. Week 4 vs. Broncos — 2 points

(Marquee opposing quarterback)

This is a marquee quarterback (Russell Wilson) and marquee head coach (Sean Payton), who happens to have some local ties — Payton went to Naperville Central, played college ball at Eastern Illinois and was with the Bears in the 1987 strike year. As Saints head coach, Payton was 7-3 against the Bears, including a 1-1 record in the postseason.

15. Week 15 at Browns — 2 points

(Marquee opposing quarterback)

I’m already looking forward to how understandably uninterested Fields will be in talking about his last trip to Cleveland, his first NFL start, and an absolute disaster when the Bears lost 26-6. This time, Fields heads to Cleveland to take on Deshaun Watson.

16. Week 9 at Saints — 0 points

Will the streak end? The Bears have lost seven in a row to the Saints, including the 2020 wild-card game. Their last win against the Saints came in 2008. The Bears’ last win in the Superdome? Oct. 27, 1991. The last time the Bears traveled to New Orleans was Halloween weekend 2017 when Al Riveron took away Zach Miller’s touchdown and Miller suffered a career-ending and very serious knee injury. A trip to New Orleans for the first time in six years should be fun for Bears fans, though.

17. Week 2 at Buccaneers — 0 points

The Bears’ most recent trip to Tampa was forgettable — a 38-3 drubbing in 2021, when Fields threw three interceptions and Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes. There’s a watchability drop-off from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield.

Bears 2023 schedule

WEEK	DATE	OPPONENT	TIME
1	Sept. 10	Packers	3:25 p.m. CT
2	Sept. 17	at Buccaneers	Noon CT
3	Sept. 24	at Chiefs	3:25 p.m. CT
4	Oct. 1	Broncos	Noon CT
5	Oct. 5	at Commanders	7:15 p.m. CT
6	Oct. 15	Vikings	Noon CT
7	Oct. 22	Raiders	Noon CT
8	Oct. 29	at Chargers	7:20 p.m. CT
9	Nov. 5	at Saints	Noon CT
10	Nov. 9	Panthers	7:15 p.m. CT
11	Nov. 19	at Lions	Noon CT
12	Nov. 27	at Vikings	7:15 p.m. CT
13	BYE
14	Dec. 10	Lions	Noon CT
15	TBD	at Browns	TBD
16	Dec. 24	Cardinals	3:25 p.m. CT
17	Dec. 31	Falcons	Noon CT
18	Jan. 6/7	at Packers	TBD

(Top photo: Daniel Bartel / USA Today)