Bears' Rooting Guide for 2022 NFL Draft Implications of Week 9
The Chicago Bears find themselves in a weird position going into their Week 9 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
Chicago sits at 3-5 and outside of the top 10 in the projected 2023 NFL draft order, but it does not seem like a playoff contender in the NFC.
The Bears' recent trades of Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith suggested they are more interested in collecting assets for the future than having success in the win column in 2022.
The Bears can still be an exciting team if Justin Fields shows week-by-week improvements, and the addition of Chase Claypool should help, but the Bears may not be good enough as an overall team to contend.
Chicago's focus on next season and beyond will grow if it loses over the next few weeks and gets some help from franchises around it in the draft order with more competitive rosters.
That means for just one week the Bears should root for their hated rival, the Green Bay Packers, to come up with a victory.
Packers over Lions
For one week, Bears fans can root for the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay enters the weekend with the same record as the Bears. Chicago needs more three-win teams to clear themselves out of the draft order and closer to playoff cut line.
The Bears should not have much hope in the Detroit Lions springing the upset at home over Green Bay because their defense has been atrocious for most of the season.
Detroit is the front-runner for the No. 1 overall pick, and no team in the NFL should rely on it for help in any playoff or draft pick situation.
In this case, Chicago would rather have a three-win team cleared out of its way so that the path to the top 10 is as clear as it can be.
Unless the Bears do not win another game this season, they will not be in competition with the Lions or Houston Texans for the top pick, but if the results fall their way, they could sneak into the top five.
Cardinals over Seahawks
The same thought process of rooting for the Packers applies to the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona is one of nine teams with three wins coming into Week 9. The Cardinals are one of the few teams with three victories listed above the Bears in the projected draft order.
Arizona needs a win for its own purposes to make up a game on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. Seattle is not a concern to Chicago's draft hopes as of right now.
A win by the Cardinals at home would move them out of the way and allow the Bears to jump at least one spot in the draft order with a defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins.
Arizona is also in a unique situation for the complexion of the 2023 draft. It is one of five teams with three wins that owns its own draft pick still. Chicago, Green Bay, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis are the other teams that fit into that category.
New Orleans, Cleveland, Denver and the Los Angeles Rams all have three wins and already traded away their 2023 first-round picks.
Buccaneers over Rams
No one expected the Buccaneers and Bears to have the same record going into Week 9.
And absolutely no one thought the Buccaneers would be ahead of the Bears in the projected draft order going into the first weekend of November.
The Bears need the Bucs to win because of the same reasons as the Packers and Cardinals. Tampa Bay simply needs to get out of the Bears' way in the draft order.
Tom Brady and Co. could be involved in an early playoff knockout game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are 3-4, but their first-round pick transfers to the Detroit Lions.
Both teams need the victory to remain in contention for the NFC wild-card spots. The loser has a long uphill climb to reach the playoff conversation by December.
The Bears should be rooting for the Bucs to win so that a third NFC team gets its fourth win and makes the path to a top-five pick much more manageable.
That should be the motivation behind Chicago's draft rooting interest for the rest of the season. The more teams cleared out above it, the better.