Way-Too-Early Bears Record Prediction

The Charter: A Chicago Bears Podcast

Chicago Sports Network

Sports, Football, Sports:football

4.4 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ruthie Polinsky and Clay Harbor circle back to the Chicago Bears’ 2026 schedule with a fresh perspective, taking a closer look at the matchups that could define the season and revisiting their initial reactions nearly a week after the release. From a potentially brutal midseason stretch to intriguing quarterback battles featuring Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, and Drake Maye, the duo breaks down where the Bears may have advantages and where things could get dicey. They also debate who could actually be under center for the Vikings by Week 2 and whether the Bears can build momentum early in the year. The conversation moves game-by-game as Ruthie and Clay hand out their way-too-early win-loss predictions, including marquee showdowns against the Eagles, Packers, Patriots, Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Lions on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. They discuss why matchups against teams like the Saints, Jets, Falcons, Jaguars, and Dolphins may be far more complicated than they appear on paper, while also previewing the Bears’ first trip to the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium. Along the way, the hosts examine the importance of primetime tests, tough road environments, and how Caleb Williams could stack up against some of the NFL’s biggest names in year two.

Transcript

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0:00.0	A one, a two, a one, two, it's the charter, charter, charter podcast, the charter podcast with
0:14.3	Ruthie and Clay.
0:17.0	Sorry, I think I started an key that was a little bit lower than I usually do, so that note was a little harder for me to reach. But you did a phenomenal job there, Clay. I didn't notice anything at all about it was stunning. I couldn't pass my... We're working on his intonation. Sixth grade choir class. He's Clay Harbor. I'm Ruthie Polinsky. Thank you so much for watching the Charter podcast, brought to you by St. Xavier University. We want to make sure, Clay, here on this podcast,
0:42.9	that everyone is checking out the CHSN app. There is so much content that you can offer that you can get
0:49.2	White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, obviously, the White Sox kind of dominate the network right now, but we have bears, we have bulls, we have Blackhawks, we have everything going on. There is no offseason in the NFL, obviously, as you know, because you're listening to the Charter podcast. We have a ton of content there, including all of our various podcasts. So go check it out. What's your favorite thing about the app, Clay? I like the fact that you can
1:12.2	watch the big pro football show whenever you want to on the CHSN app. Yeah, feel free to download
1:18.3	our seven day free trial at any point. So anyways, shameless plug there. We appreciate you listening
1:24.0	to us here wherever you may be listening to the charter podcast. Clay,
1:27.8	you and I, we did a little schedule recap, immediate reaction last episode. And I think now that we've
1:36.3	had some time to digest, to look at it with a 360 view, maybe a 180 view, bird's eye view, however you want to say it.
1:45.8	We have some thoughts. We have some takes. Clay Harbor went out on Twitter on the X machine,
1:50.7	and he went and gave his way too early record prediction, which I think is really fun and I think we can react to today as well, Clay.
1:57.3	So let's just start sort of with a generic, you know, we've had some time to process.
2:03.5	The schedule came out on Thursday night. We are now taping this on Tuesday afternoon.
2:09.2	How are you feeling about the schedule?
2:11.3	I like it. I think it's good. I think obviously the more you look at it, I think something
2:16.4	that we didn't get to cover because I feel like this didn't come out. think something that we didn't get to cover
2:17.6	because I feel like this didn't come out the news on this didn't get to come
2:21.5	out till a little bit later on but the bears are only underdogs in five games
2:25.8	next year which if they only lose five games I mean they're probably winning
2:31.1	the NFC North they have a rest differential of plus 15 games,
2:35.8	which is something we found out, which means versus their opponents. They get 15 extra days of
	...

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