Coach Dave Wannstedt, in need of a turnaround season, and possibly a strong start, for his job security, got no breaks from NFL schedule-makers Thursday when the league handed the Bears a 1998 slate with its first five games against teams that made the playoffs last season.
Wannstedt survived last season’s 0-7 start and 4-12 record. But the Bears open Sept. 6 in Soldier Field against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then face the AFC runner-up Pittsburgh Steelers and three NFC Central rivals before reaching a stretch with the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Oilers and St. Louis Rams.
If the Bears stay in playoff contention through midseason, they can personally decide their divisional fate. Five of their last seven games are against the NFC Central, including the Green Bay Packers two of the last three weeks.
For the first time since 1990–when they were coming off a 6-10 season–the Bears will not appear on ABC’s “Monday Night Football.” They have two Sunday night games–at Detroit Nov. 15 and at Minnesota Dec. 6.
