5 NFL teams who could shock us and play for a conference championship
By John Buhler
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 1. player. 57. NFC. North. Chicago Bears
A strong defense can, and always will, make a team championship-caliber.
There may not be a team in the NFL with a greater level of variance this fall than the Chicago Bears. While they could be some variation of the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars, they could just as easily be some variation of the 2018 Jaguars. Sure, they could be a middle-of-the-pack team as well in the NFC again, but this team has major boom-or-bust potential for 2020. Here is why.
Defensively, the Bears are getting back a healthy Akiem Hicks. All this does is allow a motivated Khalil Mack to go to work. Playing opposite of Mack will be free-agent acquisition Robert Quinn, who will star like he did when he was on the then-St. Louis Rams with Chris Long. Quinn is a huge upgrade over Leonard Floyd. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has to be thrilled over Quinn.
The problem for the Bears is two-fold: The quarterback position and at general manager. 2020 should be the end of the painful Mitchell Trubisky experiment. He’s supposedly a nice guy and one who works hard, but may not have the necessary skill set to be a starting quarterback in the league. That’s why the Bears brought in former Matt Nagy disciple Nick Foles to compete this fall.
Next. One of these five NFL quarterbacks could win MVP soon. dark
The 2020 Bears could be some variation of the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles with Foles catching fire in January. Chicago has an outside shot of winning a Super Bowl for that reason. They could also finish in the basement of the NFC North and everybody gets fired. If promise prevails over inherent organizational dysfunction, then the Bears may have what it takes to play for the George Halas.