Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
Do we know yet which teams the Bears will play next season?
Ryan C.
Casper, Wyoming
Heading into the last week of the 2021 season, 16 of the Bears' 17 opponents in 2022 have been finalized. In addition to home and road games against NFC North rivals the Packers, Vikings and Lions, they'll host the Eagles, Washington Football Team, Bills, Dolphins, Texans and 49ers; and visit the Cowboys, Giants, Patriots, Jets and the loser of Sunday's game between the Falcons and Saints. All NFC teams will play nine home games and eight road games in 2022 and subsequent even-numbered seasons. Three of the Bears' 2022 opponents are based on where they finish in the 2021 standings, and even if they beat the Vikings in the season finale, Minnesota owns the tiebreaker and is assured of finishing in second place. So the Bears will face fellow third-place teams in the AFC South (Texans) and NFC West (49ers) at home and the NFC South (Falcons or Saints) on the road.
Great effort by the Bears defense in last weekend's 29-3 win over the Giants. When was the last time the Bears did not allow a touchdown in a game?
Steve D.
Peoria, Illinois
Last Sunday marked the first time the Bears did not allow a touchdown since Dec. 23, 2018 when they defeated the 49ers 14-9 in San Francisco to improve to 11-4. Former Bears kicker Robbie Gould generated all of the 49ers points with field goals of 33, 30 and 23 yards—all in the second quarter. The Bears rallied from a 9-7 halftime deficit on Jordan Howard's 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
With the NFL expanding to 17 games this season, every Bears player who appears in every game obviously will set a new team record. How many of them have appeared in each of the first 16 games?
Todd M.
Michigan
There are 17 Bears players who can jointly set the franchise record for most games played in a regular season with 17 (listed alphabetically): Alex Bars, Angelo Blackson, Damiere Byrd, Marqui Christian, James Daniels, Khalil Herbert, Christian Jones, Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, Sam Mustipher, Bilal Nichols, Pat O'Donnell, Cairo Santos, Patrick Scales, Roquan Smith, Kindle Vildor and Cody Whitehair.
Chalk Talk features fan questions multiple times each week. Email your question to Larry.
