Fansided

Each NFL team’s most important game in 2019

By Russell S. Baxter

Chicago Bears outside linebackers Khalil Mack (52) and Leonard Floyd (94) sack Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) on December 16, 2018, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
Chicago Bears outside linebackers Khalil Mack (52) and Leonard Floyd (94) sack Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) on December 16, 2018, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images) /
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ENGLEWOOD, CO – MAY 13: Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio at the first practice at the uchealth training center on May 13, 2019 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
ENGLEWOOD, CO – MAY 13: Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio at the first practice at the uchealth training center on May 13, 2019 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /

Denver Broncos: Week 2 vs. Chicago Bears

Back in 2015, the Men from Mile High City parlayed one of the better team defensive efforts in one season into an NFL championship. Led by coordinator Wade Phillips, the Denver Broncos overcame spotty quarterback play from aging Peyton Manning and young Brock Osweiler to post a 12-4 record and an eventual 24-10 victory in Super Bowl 50.

A year ago, it was the Chicago Bears who rose from the ashes of four straight last-place finishes to win the NFC North with a 12-4 mark. However, that club’s season ended in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs with a home setback to the then-defending league champion Philadelphia Eagles.

That Bears’ defense was under the direction of Vic Fangio. The club finished third in the NFL in fewest yards allowed per game and was number one vs. the run. Chicago finished tied for third in the league with 50 sacks, allowed an NFL-low 283 points and led the way with 36 takeaways.

Of course, Fangio is now the head coach of the Broncos and will have the opportunity to face his most recent former employee on the second Sunday of 2019. The well-traveled assistant, with his eighth different National Football League franchise dating back to 1986, is a sideline leader in this league for the first time. And now he gets to face a team that he worked for the previous four seasons.

Next: Detroit Lions

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