Bear Digest

Why to Expect Bears as Prime-Time Players on NFL Schedule

It's only logical for the Bears to be heavily involved in prime-time games this year for several reasons, and Caleb Williams is at the center of this.

Gene Chamberlain

DJ Moore hauls in a catch against Minnesota. The Bears' offensive firepower should make them attracive to networks for prime time.
DJ Moore hauls in a catch against Minnesota. The Bears' offensive firepower should make them attracive to networks for prime time. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
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The expected release of the NFL schedule this week will come accompanied by the national TV schedule.

We'll see who the teams are with the most prime-time games.

It's a rather dubious distinction in the eyes of most media members because of the deadline constraints and limited shelf life for articles/video later starts force on everyone.

This is of very limited concern to the general public. The bigger concern for them is the late finish time because people need to go to work the next day.

Despite all of this, some teams must get assigned the task of playing the later games and NFL.com's pool of David Carr, Jeffri Chadihathe, Scott Pioli, Marc Ross and Maurice Jones-Drew took swings at which team should play the most prime-time games.

Naturally, the hands-down winner from their five-person survey was Kansas City. The two-time defending champions are trying to do what no team has done since the 1960s Packers and take it all three straight years. When the Packers did it, there was no Super Bowl. If the Chiefs do it, this will be the first time in the Super Bowl era.

The other reason it's natural to expect Kansas City to have the most is the Taylor Swift connection. This overhyped situation will end soon enough. Boyfriend Travis Kelce—or at least as far as we know it hasn't moved to fiance or former boyfriend—will be 35 years old on Oct. 5. In the NFL, 35-year-old tight ends are short on shelf life.

Two other teams are mentioned prominently. One is the Houston Texans and the other is the Baltimore Ravens.

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In all three cases, and particularly the Ravens and Texans, the panel is exhibiting backward thinking.

If you're a Bears fan, you can expect the NFL will push Chicago into the national spotlight as often as possible if not as many times as the Chiefs. It's probably true for Green Bay, Dallas and several other perennial AFC or NFC contenders.

Dallas is "America's Team" and always has the public eye. Green Bay has a huge national following, much like the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's all been done before. Houston might have an exciting passer and some weapons but that's about all. There is no national excitement about a team from Houston.

The same is true for Baltimore, which has one exciting offensive player in Lamar Jackson. The Ravens have Roquan Smith, too, but he's not Ray Lewis or a pass rusher like Lawrence Taylor. He isn't even the best inside linebacker in the game since he came into the league in 2018. There are numerous players who qualify for that title. Either way, let's face it: TV doesn't cater to defense.

The team that should be most in demand for national prime-time telecasts this year, for better or worse,  is the Chicago Bears.

Here's why.

1. National Following

Fans of teams like the Packers and Cowboys might not want to admit it. Some may not even know it because it's been buried by mediocre football for so long, but the national Bears following is as good or stronger. They've just been in hiding since the 1980s and 1990s.

The Jay Cutler era didn't quite stir them out of national lethargy. Jay often could barely stir himself out of his own lethargy. But a team from Chicago, a city with natives dispersed so greatly across the country, an iconic team from the very beginning of the league, is always going to be popular for prime time.

Anyone who is old enough to remember the Bears of 1984-91 from the Mike Ditka era knows how this works. They are out there and simply waiting for a team to create the next national craze. This might be the one. Picking Baltimore and Houston over Dallas doesn't even make sense. The national interest is not there.

2. Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams is the rookie with the most national interest. He is the favorite for offensive rookie of the year.

"Fanatics, I guess, I believe it was, came out that I passed up Caitlin Clark's record," Williams pointed out during his first Chicago press conference at Halas Hall. "I ended up reposting it and saying, 'well, I guess that's Chicago for you.' "

Williams gets it. Bears and Williams fans are across the entire country in the most popular sports league. It's a perfect marriage and made for TV.

A running quarterback is a novelty. The Bears already had this. A quarterback who passes well is going to generate real excitement.

3. Ratings

The name of the game is TV ratings. The Bears fans and also the Bears haters are going to pump up those ratings more than C.J. Stroud would, even more than Lamar Jackson would. Jackson is going into his seventh season. They might not be able to overtake the combination of back-to-back Super Bowl champions/Taylor Swift but given enough success on the field and considering how quickly the public tires of the same old thing, they'd have a chance to challenge those ratings, as well.

4. Offense

The Bears have always been popular for national TV when they have at least been at an acceptable skill level. But it was always based on their defense. Let's face it, defense doesn't draw the national interest that offense would.

Now they appear to have offense with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to chase Williams' passes, and with a pair of potent tight ends and three capable running backs. The fireworks are just beginning and the networks are going to want in on the action from the outset.

5. Media Center

Chicago is still a bigger media market than any place in the U.S. except New York and L.A. and it's a bigger football market than L.A. even when that city has two teams.

Chicago is the third-largest media market but second-largest media/NFL market.

Dallas is only fifth-largest media market. Green Bay is a little town in Wisconsin with cheese, toilet paper factories and a Culver's.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.