Now that the schedule is officially out, Chicago Bears fans can overreact to May storylines that might not even be a thing come the regular season.
But, that's what we do best when we're still in the thick of the offseason.
We have already talked about the fact that the Bears get an awfully-early bye week coming in Week 5. But, the positive here is that they get the bye week just before their rematch of the Hail Mary game against the Washington Commanders.
But, the early bye is tough to swallow, nonetheless. And, that's not the only disservice the Bears were done by the NFL.
The Bears' difficult midseason mini gauntlet holds a severe, underlying disadvantage
Weeks 8 and 9 give Chicago brutal back-to-back road games against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals -- two of the league's top offenses.
The kicker, here, is that the Bears will be getting the Ravens fresh off of their bye in Week 7. That's time for the likes of Derrick Henry to recharge. Even though he looks anything but human, Henry is still over the age of 30 and that bye week will do him good.
Lamar Jackson gets fresh legs in this one against the Bears, too, and will be a dangerous test for that Dennis Allen defense.
As if it wasn't bad enough, facing a refreshed Ravens squad (also, hello Roquan Smith revenge game), the Bears then have to travel and take on Joe Burrow and the league's top passing offense from 2024.
Mind you, this is a season where Burrow and the Bengals have a lot to prove. The organization bet on their offensive playmakers in giving new deals to both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, pouring a good majority of their financial resources into the notion that they will simply outscore their opponents when all else fails.
Ideally, the Bears are improved enough to handle such a tough couple of games. But, it goes without saying that these two could have been split up in a different fashion.
Instead, Chicago gets a fresh Ravens team only to turn right around and face off against another MVP candidate on the road.