When the NFL schedule is released, we all hunt for storylines. How will the bye week affect the season? Will there be any holiday games? How many primetime appearances or marquee matchups against top-tier quarterbacks? And of course, will any players have opportunities to exact revenge upon their former teams?
That’s what we’re looking at here. These are some of the top moments throughout the 2024 season where revenge or bragging rights will be on the line for the Bears.
WEEK 1 VS. TITANS
Over the past several seasons, GM Ryan Poles seems to have built a Nashville-to-Chicago pipeline. As things stand, the Bears have five former Titans projected to start this year: Khari Blasingame, Kevin Byard, Nate Davis, Cairo Santos and DeMarcus Walker.
Byard is the man who did the most for the Titans over his career, and he’s the newest Bear too. He made it clear he’s got the game circled on his calendar.
WEEK 3 AT COLTS
Chicago Bears
The Bears and head coach Matt Eberflus traveled to Indianapolis for joint practices and a preseason game against the Colts last year, but this will be the first time Eberflus coaches against his former team for real.
“Revenge” probably isn’t the right word for Eberflus’ return, since the Colts gave him his first professional defensive coordinator job– which in turn led to his head coaching gig with the Bears. But he’ll still probably have some emotions coaching against his former team.
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WEEK 4 VS. RAMS
The Rams and Matthew Stafford will be on a quest to show the league they should still be considered among the upper echelons of the NFC this year. New Bears tight end Gerald Everett and center Coleman Shelton will want to show they should’ve been a part of the Rams’ plans.
The Rams drafted Everett, but didn’t sign him to a second contract. He ended up putting up better numbers down the road for the Chargers. Shelton started 30 games for the Rams over the past two seasons, but they let him walk this year.
WEEK 5 VS. PANTHERS
DJ Moore had a solid game against the Panthers last season, when he caught five passes for 58 yards. The top-shelf wide receiver said recently that playing his former squad again will be just like any other game, but there’s probably a part of him that would like to put up crazy numbers against them.
WEEK 8 AT COMMANDERS
The Commanders traded Montez Sweat away at last year’s trade deadline, and the Bears promptly paid Sweat a ton of money. Sweat earned every dollar of his salary over the second half of the season in Chicago. He’ll likely want to show the Commanders up close and personal why he’s worthy of being paid like a franchise-foundational player.
WEEK 9 AT CARDINALS
When the Bears’ free agent deal for Larry Ogunjobi fell through due to a failed physical, Justin Jones became the team’s Plan B. Jones, and the rest of the defensive line, struggled to generate pressure in 2022, but once Sweat arrived halfway through 2023, things got better. But just as things got better, the Bears and Jones parted ways. Seems like a game ripe for revenge.
WEEK 13 AT LIONS
D’Andre Swift was supposed to be the next great Lions running back when he entered the league in 2020. But throughout his three seasons in Detroit, Swift always found himself splitting carries with other talented rushers. The Lions finally shipped Swift to the Eagles in 2023, where he finally received 200+ carries and tallied over 1,000 yards. In Week 13, he’ll finally get the chance to play against his former team– and he’ll get to do it again in Week 16.
WEEK 17 VS. SEAHAWKS
In normal circumstances, Shane Waldron would not have been looking for a new job this offseason. But when the Seahawks pushed Pete Carroll out of his head coaching job and into the front office, Waldron needed to start looking for other employment. The Bears took advantage of the rare opportunity and hired him. Waldron will have his first shot to carve up his old team with his gameplan in the latter stages of the season.
