Vikings fans will roll their eyes at recent delusional Bears prediction

The 2024 NFL draft is over, free agency is settling, and the schedules have been released for the upcoming year. That means it is time for experts and analysts to start making outrageous predictions about the Minnesota Vikings and other NFL teams for the upcoming year.

Expectations are low for the Vikings this year. They are seen as a rebuilding team with a new quarterback and are transitioning away from expensive, aging veteran players in favor of youth and potential.

The same cannot be said for the Chicago Bears. Minnesota's NFC North opponents are bound to continue to get better as they continue to acquire talent and come together as a team, but some of the predictions being made about the team from the Windy City seem a bit too ambitious.

Vikings fans will roll their eyes at recent delusional Bears prediction

Chicago could very well finish the season with a winning record and might even be on the verge of making the playoffs if things go well for them. But this is a Bears team that hasn't won a playoff game since January 2011.

This won't stop the hype train from rolling. High-profile sports-talk figure Nick Wright recently shared on First Things First that he believes Chicago will be a playoff team for the upcoming season and is even "flirting with" the idea of the Bears reaching the Super Bowl.

While it wouldn't be impossible for the Bears to reach the Super Bowl, it would be a massive challenge. Chicago has a rookie quarterback who will need to find his footing in the NFL and the team will face each of their division foes twice this year.

The Detroit Lions are bound to be trendy picks to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans this February and the Green Bay Packers are a team that seems to be ready to be highly competitive in 2024.

Wright makes a great point that Chicago's schedule could help them to have a fast start this season. Games against the Panthers, Patriots, Titans, Cardinals, and Commanders in the first ten weeks of the season could help to get rookie Caleb Williams going.

The real tests will be when Williams and the Bears face teams like the Lions, Packers, Texans, and 49ers. Those games will be much better measuring sticks for how Chicago will fare when they aren't playing against teams who are currently in a position to struggle.

It's great to get excited about the future of teams like the Chicago Bears or Minnesota Vikings, but expectations need to be tempered a bit otherwise you can sound a bit silly when making predictions for the upcoming season.