Bears to play more in primetime than expected, per NFL VP originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

NFL schedule release day is finally here, and with it the trickle of leaks that help fans piece together the full schedule bit by bit.

We’ve already heard the Bears and Packers will start and finish the season together. Neither of those games is confirmed to be in primetime.

But Mike North, the NFL’s VP of broadcast planning, joined Peter Schrager on “The Season” podcast and said the Bears will be in prime time more than fans may think.

“The fact that they were a three-win team last year generally means you’re heading for a lot of Sunday noon starts,” North said on the podcast. “But in that division now, maybe it’s more wide open now than in the past? They’ve got a haul from the draft pick trade, and what do any of us know, but we keep hearing Justin Fields looks better than ever, and he was nothing if not exciting last year when we watched him. So if someone were to look at this year’s schedule and go, ‘Who would surprise us that they’re all-in on?’ I’m sure somebody somewhere is going to be like, ‘Wow, that sure seems like they think the Bears are going to be good.’ And yeah, I kinda hope they are.”

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No matter what the Bears record is, they’re always a big draw, and tend to play a handful of primetime games. Last year, coming off of a 6-11 season in 2021 they had three primetime appearances: Week 2 SNF at Packers, Week 6 TNF vs. Commanders and Week 7 MNF at Patriots.

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