There’s not much reason to believe that things will change with the Chicago Bears in 2021. After all, no changes were made at the top, where general manager Ryan Pace, head coach Matt Nagy and President and CEO Ted Phillips will all return next season.

While the Bears eked their way into the postseason, the 2020 season was far from a success. It was marred by a blown 5-1 start and a six-game losing streak that made it evident that some kind of change was needed. Change that didn’t come. Now, Pace and Nagy get another year to turn things around.

But things are only going to get more difficult for the Bears next season as they face the third most difficult schedule in the NFL in 2021. The teams that Chicago will face next season have a combined winning percentage of .553.

Here’s a look at the Bears’ 2021 opponents:

Home Away
Arizona Cardinals Cleveland Browns
Baltimore Ravens Los Angeles Rams
Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants Seattle Seahawks
San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Detroit Lions Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings

Sure, it’s difficult to judge how a team will perform from year to year. But the Bears will face some of the league’s best young talent — including quarterbacks named Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Burrow.

The Bears will face seven playoff teams from the previous year in 2021, and it doesn’t help that they only beat one team with a winning record in 2020.

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