Chicago Bears: Breaking Down 5 Toughest, 5 Easiest Games on 2015 Schedule

The NFL proved it's king once again when it released the schedule for regular-season games league-wide. Bears fans found out the team has a brutal stretch to start the year and instantly began predicting what will happen. 

Over the course of this season, the Bears have some interesting matchups, including a Thanksgiving night tilt in Green Bay and a visit from Peyton Manning and the Broncos. 

What are the toughest and easiest games on the schedule for the Bears? We have identified five of each and predict what might happen in each matchup.

The Bears were in Seattle last year for their third preseason game, against the Seahawks. The result was a 34-6 loss and a telltale sign of things to come in 2014. 

The Seahawks have only two regular-season home losses since 2012. Their home-field advantage is one of the best in all of sports and their secondary has been known to force a ton of turnovers against even the best quarterbacks. 

Can Jay Cutler hold up on the road against Richard Sherman and his Legion of Boom? Probably not. The Bears will have a hard time putting points on the board and slowing down the combination of Russell Wilson and Jimmy Graham. 

The Seahawks are poised for another Super Bowl run and they will flex their muscles in this game. Bears lose big. 

Final Score: Seahawks 38-10

Bears head coach John Fox got a chance to see Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr up close and personal last season in Carr's rookie year. 

Carr and the Raiders lost to Fox's Broncos twice last year by a combined score of 88-31. Carr threw the football over 35 times in each game and had three interceptions. 

Expect more of the same when Carr and the Raiders come to Chicago. Despite having a ton of money to spend in free agency, the Raiders just couldn't find many marquee names to sign big deals and help improve the team. 

The Bears' new-look defense will get a prime chance to pin their ears back and go after Carr. This should be the game where the defense forces a few turnovers, sets up the offense for some easy points and even scores a few on their own. 

Final Score: Bears, 38-13

If Seattle is the toughest place to play in the NFL, then Kansas City might be right behind the Emerald City. 

Right after the home game against Oakland, the Bears have to travel to the Chiefs in their first of four games against AFC West teams. 

We all remember what the Chiefs did to New England last year at home. Their team feeds off that crowd and it's going to be a nightmare for the Bears to try to slow down the pass rush led by last year's sack leader, Justin Houston. 

This should be a defensive battle. Both offenses struggle to move the football and put points on the board. In the end, the crowd and that pass rush will be just too much for Jay Cutler as he has two fourth-quarter turnovers. 

Final Score: Chiefs, 20-9

Division games are never easy. The Minnesota Vikings are headed in the right direction, but the Bears should take care of business at home here. 

Questions still surround running back Adrian Peterson and his future with the Vikings. It remains to be seen whether he will be on the team at this point. Regardless of Peterson's status, getting after quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is the key. 

This is the point in the season when we should start to see the Bears develop into the kind of team we are going to see for years to come. 

Look for them to get back to attacking the quarterback on defense, going to the running game on offense and playing sound special teams. That's always been the formula for success in Chicago, which they will use in this matchup. 

Final Score: Bears, 23-14

If you are looking for the next upstart team in the NFL, then look no further than the St. Louis Rams. They have a stacked defensive line, solid running game and former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles under center. 

Going into St. Louis has proven to be a tough task over the past few years. The Rams have beaten the likes of the Seahawks, Broncos, Cardinals, Saints and, yes, the Bears at home over the past two seasons. 

The Bears just can't match up with what the Rams are throwing up front on their defensive line. Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers and newcomer Nick Fairley are way too much beef for the Bears' offensive line to handle. 

Jay Cutler and Matt Forte should say their prayers before trying to get anything done against those guys. The Bears will lose this game simply because they won't be able to move the football past field-goal range. 

Final Score: Rams, 24-12

The Week 13 meeting against the San Francisco 49ers is shaping up to be the Vic Fangio Bowl. Considering both teams might be out of the playoff chase by then, it might be all the Bears have to look forward to. 

Once Jim Harbaugh left for the University of Michigan, the wheels seemed to completely fall off for the 49ers. Fangio was their defensive coordinator and he was passed by for the head coaching gig. Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase also interviewed for the job and didn't get it. 

All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis has retired, running back Frank Gore is with the Colts and the 49ers look like they are in complete rebuild mode. Fangio, Gase and defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who played in San Francisco, will all enact their revenge. 

The Bears will win this one big and get the 49ers one step closer to a first overall draft pick. 

Final Score: Bears, 31-10

The Bears are being set up like turkeys coming to the dinner table to be carved on this Thanksgiving Day game. 

It's already hard enough to go into Green Bay and beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but now you have to factor in the emotion of this game being Brett Favre's jersey retirement ceremony. 

Jay Cutler isn't good against the Packers, Rodgers seems to always torch the Bears in Green Bay and the crowd is going to be juiced up with Favre back in town. 

Rodgers might have four touchdown passes by halftime and could give way to Favre for old times' sake. All jokes aside, the Bears will have a hard time slowing down the Packers' offense, which will be clicking on all cylinders by this point. 

Final Score: Packers, 42-27

The second half of the Bears' season is more manageable than the first half. They get Washington on their schedule one week after facing the putrid 49ers. 

What Robert Griffin III are we going to see in this game? Are we going to see Griffin in this game? The 2012 second overall draft pick has started only 20 games over the past two seasons. 

If the Bears see Griffin, they will likely be seeing a guy on his way out of Washington. If it's Kirk Cousins, then Washington is in complete implode mode. Cousins is 2-7 in his career as a starter. 

The second half of the year is when the Bears can stack some wins, get near .500 and really begin to build for 2016. This is a big win at home as the Bears figure to be trending up at this point while Washington is going down. 

Final Score: Bears, 24-3

John Fox gets to see his old team as the Denver Broncos come to town. All eyes will be on Peyton Manning as he could be nearing his final regular-season games in the NFL. 

It remains to be seen what Manning we are going to see. He really struggled in the second half of the season last year as age and injuries seemed to take a toll. Can Jay Cutler take advantage against his old team and knock off the future Hall of Famer? 

This figures to be a tough football game where both teams want to run the football and get after the quarterback. Surprisingly enough, Cutler can and will outplay Manning in this game. 

This one will come down to the end. Despite it being one of the toughest games of the year for the Bears, they will come out on top. 

Final Score: Bears, 24-21

We get the Lovie Smith Bowl two years in a row. This time, the venue is in Tampa Bay and Smith might have a No. 1 overall quarterback in his arsenal. 

It still remains to be seen whether Tampa Bay will select Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, but all signs point to yes.

Even the best rookie quarterbacks tend to struggle in their first year and the Bears should be able to jump all over Tampa Bay. 

Tampa Bay is still a few players from being good, but by this point in the season the Bears should be a team on the rise. Even on the road, the Bears should dominate this game in all three phases and blow Tampa out. 

Final Score: Bears, 24-6