Did the NFL Just Help the Chicago Bears Compete?!

Summary

Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: Did the NFL Just Help the Chicago Bears Compete?!

Hosts: Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola
Date: May 15, 2026
Podcast Network: 312 Sports

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the 2026 Chicago Bears schedule release, examining the specifics and quirks that could benefit the Bears this season. Dan and Matt analyze whether the NFL did the Bears any favors with the schedule’s construction, including bye week timing, net rest advantages, and travel implications. The conversation also veers into roster analysis, the breakout potential of key young players, and some lively digressions into food, social media schedule videos, and Chicago sports broadcasting.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on Schedule Release Shows

• The hosts joke about the performative seriousness of schedule release night, admitting they only managed three minutes of solemn analysis before devolving into laughter and lightheartedness.
  • Notable Moment (02:50):
    • Dan Bernstein: “Because you’re watching the Forward Progress... that’s your answer! That’s all you need to say.”
    • Matt Abbatacola: “Just plain stupidity?”
    • Dan Bernstein: “Yes. Well, I mean, what are you supposed to do?”

2. Key Takeaways from the Bears' Schedule

• Midseason Bye & Rest Advantage:
  • The Bears benefit from an unusually favorable stretch, with three consecutive night games followed by a home game and a bye week:
    • Dan Bernstein (03:20):

      “There is a home game and then the bye week. So you get an 11-day break, a home game and a two-week break. That’s a ton of get well time and nobody wants to talk about it.”

  • They emphasize that injuries are a huge, unpredictable factor each season and that this extra rest could be decisive.
    • (04:50) Bernstein: "We always pretend these are robots or it’s a video game when the schedule comes out, like every player on your team is going to be there all year. No, they’re not."
• Rest Differential:
  • The Bears have the most favorable “net rest differential” in the NFL, meaning they consistently have more days off than their weekly opponent.
    • (06:59) Bernstein:

      "Number one positive rest differential for this year in the NFL belongs to your Chicago Bears... plus 15."

• Travel Considerations:
  • Matt notes the schedule seems to minimize long-distance travel, which could cut down on wear and tear.
• Implications for Success:
  • Dan wonders whether this rest advantage is correlated with playoff success, and if the NFL is deliberate in giving such advantages based on scheduling algorithms.

3. Early Forecasts and Vegas Odds

• The Bears are favored in 12 of their 17 games based on opening lines (10:11).
• Brad Biggs predicts a 9-8 finish for Chicago (10:37), which the hosts discuss with a blend of optimism and cautious realism.

4. First Quarter Setup

• The season opens with one road game (Carolina), followed by three home games (Vikings, Eagles, Jets).
• Matt sees this as a favorable opening stretch, especially given the Vikings’ QB uncertainties, and dreams of a 3-1 or even 4-0 start (08:44).
• Fun trivia: Bears play Miami in game 13—just as they did in the 1985-86 season, which Matt’s friend takes as an omen for a Super Bowl run (09:58).

5. Roster Talk: The Young Receiving Corps

Breakdown of ESPN’s Ben Solak Article

• Luther Burden & Colston Loveland:
  • Both are entering their sophomore season.
  • Burden's target share more than doubled from early to late season, rising from 7.4% to 18.4%.
    • (20:32) Matt Abbatacola:

      "Luther Burden in weeks one through ten, team target share was was 7.4%; weeks eleven through twenty, 18.4%."

  • Colston Loveland saw similar growth, ending the year as the team’s most-targeted pass catcher down the stretch, with numbers on par with elite rookie receivers like A.J. Brown (21:37).
  • Loveland’s unique combination of receiving and blocking makes him the potential focal point of the offense after Moore’s departure.
    • (24:19) Matt:

      “Loveland finished the year with four consecutive games of ten plus targets. ...At this time last season, the Bears were hoping to get him healthy soon, but now they're building the offense around his role.”

  • Bernstein: (25:09)

    "That’s the guy that can’t lose. That’s the guy that can’t get hurt. Other than your quarterback..."

• Outlook:
  • Offensive success hinges on the health of QB Caleb Williams, offensive line stability, and Loveland’s availability.

6. NFL Schedule Release Videos: Social Media Reaction

• Matt watched several creative team-produced schedule video releases:
  • Chargers: Halo video game spoof, including an ankle injury gag that triggered Broncos fans (14:27).
  • Jets: Paint mixing Instagram-style video, which hosts found oddly soothing (15:24).
  • Colts: Simpsons-style theme, which Dan, a Simpsons fan, appreciates (18:11).
  • Chargers vs Patriots: Halo-themed, “nothing to see here” shot at New England; less controversial than the Broncos jest.
  • Both hosts trade quips about fan responses to these media stunts.

7. Comic Relief: Chyron Errors and Food Detours

• Chyron Error: Marquee network mistakenly listed “Cubs at Lions” and “Saints at Cubs” in its ticker during a Cubs game—a mix-up that amused both hosts (26:45).
• Cooking Tips: They exchange practical scrambled egg and mushroom cooking tips while discussing the Jets' satisfying schedule video (16:47–17:50).
• Broadcast Team Preferences: Discussion shifts to Cubs’ TV announcers, the challenges of adjusting to new broadcast teams, and the broader implications for NFL games with many national broadcasts (29:20).

8. Humor, Health Warnings, and Bears’ Red Zone Prospects

• After reviewing ESPN’s Ben Solak’s Bears analysis, the duo riff on medical warning ads—particularly on “exploding taint syndrome” (31:12), delivering mock-PSAs about not Googling “Fournier’s gangrene.”
  • Dan Bernstein: “Do not Google Fournier’s gangrene. It will ruin your weekend.” (32:52)
• Forecast: With a potent offense, the Bears should be in the Red Zone highlight package often, though their defense might keep the scoring high on both sides.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On NFL schedule predictions and injuries:
  (04:50) Dan Bernstein:

  “We always pretend that these are robots or it's a video game when the schedule comes out, like every player on your team is going to be there all year. No, they're not.”

• On the Bears’ net rest edge:
  (07:10) Dan Bernstein:

  “Number one positive rest differential for this year in the NFL belongs to your Chicago Bears.”

• On dreams of a hot start:
  (08:44) Matt Abbatacola:

  “Would love to see them start 3 and 1, 4-0 would be a dream to start the season. An absolute dream.”

• On the emergence of Burden & Loveland:
  (21:37) Matt Abbatacola (reading Ben Solak):

  “Burden averaged 2.92 yards per route run during the regular season. That's tied with A.J. Brown for the best mark for a rookie receiver... in the past 15 years.”

• On Loveland’s importance:
  (25:09) Dan Bernstein:

  “That's the guy that can’t lose. That's the guy that can’t get hurt. Other than your quarterback?”

• On health warnings:
  (32:52) Dan Bernstein:

  “Do not Google Fournier’s gangrene. It will ruin your weekend.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:41 – Show intro; reflections on schedule release show
• 03:10 – Important schedule takeaways: rest stretches and injury impact
• 06:34 – Travel & net rest differential analysis
• 08:27 – Season opening breakdown; hopes for a fast start
• 10:11 – Early betting lines; Bears favored in 12 games
• 13:25 – Schedule release social media videos, reactions
• 20:32 – In-depth on Luther Burden & Colston Loveland's breakout potential
• 26:45 – Marquee Cubs/Bears chyron mix-up
• 29:08 – NFL broadcast booth discussion
• 30:51 – Forecast for high-scoring Bears games, Red Zone exposure
• 31:12 – Exploding taint syndrome and public health riff

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Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Dan and Matt expertly balance deep football insight with the uniquely irreverent humor and camaraderie that makes Forward Progress a Bears fan’s must-listen. They’re cautiously optimistic about Chicago’s schedule-based windfalls, bullish on the team's young offensive core, and remind fans that—as ever—health, luck, and a few timely wins will determine if the Bears finally take that next step.

Closing Note:
(36:57) Dan Bernstein: “Bye. Forward progress is stopped.”

Transcript

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[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan,

[Dan Bernstein]

you're thinking Forward progress. Come on. 10.

[Matt Abaticola]

219, 219Forward progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matabaticola on 312 sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

See, I don't know if you've had enough forward progress in your life. It's possible you haven't, that you just you need more. And thank you for everybody who stuck with us last night for whatever that was. We tried. It was our intention to begin with, with with great seriousness and earnestness and and a deep reverence for something as important as the schedule release day. And we did for and we were able to keep it up for a little bit. But thank you for being there long after that facade faded.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was like three minutes, I think.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, we got easily three minutes of being serious.

[Matt Abaticola]

No there was One commenter on YouTube said my wife thinks I'm crazy because they keep laughing and she's asking why am I laughing at a schedule release show?

[Dan Bernstein]

Because you're watching the forward progress and. Or listening to the forward progress schedule release show. That's why. That's your answer? That's all you need to say?

[Matt Abaticola]

Just plain stupidity?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Well, I mean, what are you supposed to do?

[Matt Abaticola]

I. Exactly. I mean, that's the whole point. If you can't laugh and have fun and try to take this serious and break it down game by game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on.

[Matt Abaticola]

Like, come on, dude, what are you doing?

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, there's. There's only a couple things that I find that are actually no jokes, significant takeaways.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the most important thing to me, I mentioned it last night. I mentioned it again today when Cody was doing stuff for social media. The break that they get in the middle of the season when they have the consecutive, there's three consecutive night games. It's a Thursday, a Monday and a Sunday. And then there is a home game and then the bye week. So you get an 11 day break, a home game and a two week break. That's a ton of get well time and nobody wants to talk about it. During the last 72 hours, I feel like I'm standing alone here saying, injuries, anybody? You're predicting all these games. You have no idea who's playing for your team. You have no clue who's playing for your team. Training camp, injuries, preseason injuries, first game, injuries. After the first game, there's going to be five quarterbacks who are out. It might be the Bears. You don't know if Tyson Bajan is starting any of these games. It makes it all ridiculous. And am I the only person that seems to understand that every year there's a slew of incredibly important players who are hurt and it's entirely unpredictable. Like, why do we pretend that the injuries don't define seasons?

[Matt Abaticola]

They do.

[Dan Bernstein]

And having that time to either recover from an injury that happens tomorrow or be able to manage an injury that and even the guys who aren't technically hurt are fighting things all year. It's all a matter of can you last the year. It is a game of attrition. And we always pretend that these are robots or it's a video game when the schedule comes out, like every player on your team is going to be there all year. No, they're not. It's a fact. They're just not.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now with that long break in the middle, is the NFL deliberate in the schedule making and the placement of the bye week based on a team's finish and their strength schedule? Because the Bears play, they play nine games, have that long break. You're Talking about and then play the final eight games like that. That's. That's a pretty decent breakdown to be able to do that. And. And I, I didn't know I have to go and I know I can do this. I just have. I just didn't do it. As we started talking about it before, we were recording the number of miles the Bears travel this year. It seems, looking at the schedule, it just, it seems lower to me that they're not doing a ton of traveling that after. So they're on the east coast to open, then they stay home or like centrally located. Then they're on the east coast for a couple more trips. When they go to Jacksonville. Oh no, they're home for Jacksonville. They go to Miami and Buffalo and then they're home. And like the road games are essentially located. They go, they go west one time to Seattle. It just. And maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems like there's less travel and I know I can go look back at miles traveled. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody can do that for you and see.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. Out there to find. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

What I did see was that somebody did put together what is referred to as NFL's net rest differential.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And this is the sum of net rest days against their opponents. The number of rest days you have versus the number of rest days your opponent that week has.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, Perfect.

[Dan Bernstein]

Across all 17 games. Okay. Number one positive rest differential for this year in the NFL belongs to your Chicago Bears.

[Matt Abaticola]

There you go.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number number one, they have a plus 15. Then it's Buffalo at plus 14 and then all the way down to Dallas 11.5. The LA Chargers are a negative 24. Wow. Philadelphia 15.

[Matt Abaticola]

They're. They're travel. Aren't they traveling somewhere out of, out of the country. I thought they had an international game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Regardless of what the reason is, this is. This stuff's real. The amount of days you have to get healthy or healthy, er, or anything even resembling healthy just to. Just to recovery time. The Bears have the best rest differential in football.

[Matt Abaticola]

I would love to know if that's deliberate by the NFL or if that's a coincidence.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'd love to know if it's correlative with playoff success. Like, like if somebody could take these numbers and then say. And then apply it retroactively and say here's how, here's what it means. I don't know the meaning of this other than what it feels like it means to me.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

But this is, this is something where you're. I would be certain that the high end gamblers look at stuff like this.

[Matt Abaticola]

They absolutely. They have. I would. I would think they look at anything they could that could give them an advantage or some knowledge. For sure.

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[Matt Abaticola]

I love the fact that, you know, as Ben Johnson talks about quarters, I think a lot of coaches do. I think Lovey would always talk about quarters, too. This season. The way the quarter starts out, the way the season starts out, the first quarter on the road at Carolina, then you're home for the Vikings, the Eagles and the Jets.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just.

[Matt Abaticola]

I love the way that sets up for the Bears to have three home games to start. A divisional opponent that you just don't know what they're going to be like with the quarterback situation. Obviously a tough game with the Eagles, which the Bears beat the Eagles last year in Philadelphia and really manhandled the Eagles in Philadelphia. So that. That should be a little more competitive game. Guys that were there and remember that game. And then you get the Jets. I don't know. I just. I like the way it's setting up to open up that first quarter for the Bears after the first four games to say, all right, this is where we sit after four played, you know, a 9 and 8 team in the Vikings last year, a playoff team in the Eagles. I just, I like the way it's setting up for the Bears to get started. I would love to see them get. Start 3 and 1 got 4, 0. Would be a dream to start the season. An absolute dream. One other note about the schedule and I didn't wreck. I didn't catch on to this, but my. One of my buddies did. He text me this morning. He said, if you didn't notice, game, the. The week that when the. When the Bears play the. The Dolphins, It'll be their 13th game of the season, which was coincidentally the 13th game of the season in the 85, 86 season.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

Therefore, he extrapolates that into The Bears going 161 and winning the Super Bowl.

[Dan Bernstein]

Fair enough.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm down for it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I think it's a great thought process to have.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, cool. Cool. Like it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Thanks for sending that over, coach.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's another note, and that is that however you do this and say, you know, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. The Chicago Bears are favored in 12 of their 17 games on the earliest, earliest, earliest line. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Which again, is crazy. But yes, they're. They're there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, you.

[Dan Bernstein]

You have to look at whatever you can and at least at this point, before we know who's hurt, they're, they're. And they're underdogs in the road games where you think they'd be underdogs. So I like that. I also want to note that, that Brad Biggs has his win, loss, win, loss total in he has the Bears at 9 and 8.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, really? Interesting. Now I'm, I'm down with all those, the being in the underdog in those five games with the exception of that last one.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, they're only the underdog in the last game, I think just because it's a road game and the we don't know if even if they had all their healthy players if any of them would play because it's the last regular season game.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. I can tell you now Tyson Bejo will start game, the 17th game in week 18 and maybe he'll start more. He'll be the starter in that game because it won't be a necessary game for the Bears to win.

[Dan Bernstein]

They will have clinched a playoff spot by then.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I'm hoping, I'm hoping that it isn't like a monkey's paw kind of of ending here where you're right about that last game, but because they're out of it.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, no, no, no. Please, Danielson. No, no, no, no.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

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[Matt Abaticola]

A couple other notes on other teams that released their schedule via social media. I watched a handful of things, and some are okay. I watched the Chargers one to see what the shot was they took at the Patriots. Just to kind of see it visually after you described it last night. It was fine. It was kind of neat. They had one thing about the Broncos game that they, they previewed that made Broncos fans angry, which made me very happy that fans reacted in an angry way. Okay, so remember the Chargers did the Halo setup as their schedule release, like the video game Halo. And when it came to the Broncos week, one of the machines or people in the costume, whatever it is, whatever Halo is, took out the Broncos player and shot him in the ankle, took him out via the ankle injury. And it made Broncos fans irate. People were not happy that they would be so classless and go so low to make fun of their quarterback who had an ankle injury.

[Dan Bernstein]

Your own coach was making fun of him.

[Matt Abaticola]

Your own coach was calling him out medically.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. I'd say address your internal stuff first and go back and say, hey, why was your coach roasting your quarterback? Yeah, I wish I'd known about all these ankle injuries he had.

[Matt Abaticola]

So the fans apparently not. Not very happy with the Chargers calling him. Very. It wasn't classy and just with in bad taste. And how dare they take shots at his ankle injury knowing that it was a real ankle injury that he had. I thought it was great. And so the sniper shoots and shoots him in the ankle, and he goes down. I thought it was funny. Another one that I saw that I enjoyed was the Jets. And I don't know if you've ever seen any of these videos on social media. It's just, it's like a, it's like a, A, A, A tool that a painter will use to mix paint together. And there'll be like maybe two or three different splotches, colors of paints, and they mix them together to. To form a certain color.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wait, a Cool. That they use. Isn't it a stick?

[Matt Abaticola]

It's like, it looks like it's. It's a metal device, and it's kind of flat and fat at the end. It has a handle. And so they would take a little, a little bit of paint from like a yellow and then an orange and then a, a white, and they mix them together and make the new paint.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I've seen videos like this. I think, I think it's, it's just, it's. It's like a soothing, like Relaxing type thing to watch. And so the jets did it with all of their opponents. And so you see, like, the color splotches. And then the hand comes up with the. With the device, pulls some of the paint off and mixes them together and pulls out the dominant color of their opponent. And then their logo will appear.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's cute. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was really cool. Yeah, it was really neat. I liked it. It was. It was just. I thought it was. It was interesting to watch more than some of the other ones that I've seen.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can see how people would like watching those videos. There'd be something satisfying about watching it blend together and finish it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Very much is. I'm going to find one and send it to you so you can see, because I think you would enjoy it too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you know what I find to

[Matt Abaticola]

be mindless and relaxing?

[Dan Bernstein]

You know what I find satisfying in that way? When you make scrambled eggs and you pour the liquid scrambled eggs into the pan. Like the, like the moment, you know, like after the. A quick flip and the moment, you know. Okay, these are done. Because I like, I. I hate overcooked scrambled eggs.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. Cannot be overcooked.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, and the rule is if it. The rule. If it looks done in the pan, it's going to be overdone on the plate.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, like the quick flip and then, like, let it finish on the. Like that. That feeling of knowing right. When those. Those proteins are, like, congealing just a little bit. There's something really satisfying about that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm going to look up those videos.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I'll find you one, too, and I'll send it to you. Yeah. And by the way, if you're. If you are making scrambled eggs, Dan is right. If they're done in the pan, they're going to be overcooked. Yep. So I would always. Before they're done, and I'm. I'm always moving my scrambled eggs around. Take them off the heat and finish off the heat. That's how you finish them. They're not done cooking yet. Take it off the heat. They're going to still keep rising in temperature. Finish them off the heat. That's how you make good scrambled eggs.

[Dan Bernstein]

And also do not salt them until you serve them.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. I don't. I don't know why people salt before they even get them in the pan.

[Dan Bernstein]

It. You'll turn them gray. It's bad for everything. Salt before serving and not a moment sooner.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And mushrooms, too. Don't. Don't salt mushrooms before they're cooked. You need you need that liquid to evaporate before you even. Because then all you're doing is pushing all that salt out that you just put on them. So, anyway, those are your cooking tips for the day. And the. Did you see the Colts video release? Because I think you would like it because it was a Simpsons cartoon, like, opening.

[Dan Bernstein]

Are you allowed to do that?

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, they did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I would think you might need special permission for.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe. Maybe they got it. But, I mean, they must. I mean, they. They did it, so they must have it if they needed it. So it's out there for you. You should check that one out, because I know you like the Simpson stuff. So that was all that I saw. That really. That really stood out to me. Oh, the. Forgot to say what the. The Chargers did with the Patriots. You tried describing it so it was like, again, it's that Halo game, and it looks like they're, like, driving something on. It looks like a racetrack kind of. And then the game stops right there. It like, it looks like there's, like a. A malfunction in the game. And then a message comes across the screen, and all it says is, nothing to see here. Kind of like a shot at the rainbow or. See anything. Nothing to see here.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just laughable.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, right. So that. That was the shot that they. They took there. But people were more upset, the Broncos fans were at least about the shooting of the guy in the ankle, than. Than anything about Rossini. So. But that was all I saw as far as schedule releases that. That caught my eye that were interesting on social media.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I. There wasn't a whole lot of this that I found tremendously interesting, but I know we have to do it because our NFL overlords say that this is. Yeah, this is now a federal holiday of some kind. Okay, great. All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

I saw an article from Ben Solak in on ESPN about Luther Bird and Colston Loveland about sophomore players taking a jump, and this. I loved what he wrote here. He says it's clear that Bears head coach Ben Johnson had a vision for these pass catchers again, Burden and Loveland, and how he'd build an offense around them. It wasn't immediate. Johnson's playbook is dense, and injuries through the summer made it tough for Loveland and Burden to stack days on the practice field. The two rookies spent the fall earning more reps as they got more familiar with the offense, and by winter, they were impactful contributors. Both players more than doubled their target share from the first 10 weeks of the bear season to the last 10 weeks so listen to this and he has more great stuff here. Luther burden in weeks one through 10, team target share was was 7.4% weeks 11 through 2018.4% so up from 7.4 to 18.4.

[Dan Bernstein]

A lot of that has to be that Roma Dunze was fighting through these foot problems.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's part of it, yes. Colson Loveland Weeks 1 through 10 11% of Team Target share Weeks 11 through 20 23.3% he says some of Burden's emergence was because of the absence of a Dunes A who missed five games down the stretch in Chicago. But even on a per route basis, burden 26.8% target rate was used more heavily than a Dunes A. At 20.9%. Burden was used more heavily than any Bears pass catcher, save for Love Loveland, who led the team with a 29.1 target percent rate. Burden and Loveland were so productive down the stretch that their rookie seasons stand among rarefied company. Burden averaged 2.92 yards per route run during the regular season. That's tied with A.J. brown for the best mark for a Rookie receiver. Minimum 50 targets in the past 15 years.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just below Burden and Brown are Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham, Jr. Puka Nakua and Jamar Chase. These players did it on remarkably higher volume than Burden. But even the low usage rookies who spiked in yards per route run Tank Dell, Christian Watson, Tyreek Hill, Doug Baldwin. This indicates a promising future for Burden. Burden has special physical traits, but he has room to grow on the technical side of the game. He misaligned on a fourth down in a wild Card round against the packers, went in motion late, missed a check at the line and rang the wrong route on the eventual Caleb Williams interception. This is important because Burden will not be a part time player this season. The Bears traded more to Buffalo this spring. Burden is the clear heir apparent to Moore's 1104 snaps from 2025. But with an expanded role comes more formations, more alignments and more audibles. If Burden has fully ingested the playbook, he might become wide receiver one on one of the league's healthiest passing offenses. I'm not sure if he'll truly become the primary target, however, as long as Loveland is still on Sundays.

[Dan Bernstein]

There we go. Yes, that's. That's what's been missing from some of the other breakdowns of their passing game.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not some, all of the passing breakdowns. And we've talked about this. They talk about the wide receiver rooms and I kept saying to you, and you kept saying to me. What about Colson Loveland? He's the best receiver on this team so Solak gets it here. Loveland was impossibly dominant across the final games of his rookie year. He's 137 receiving yards in a wild card game. We're just five yards shy of the postseason rookie receiving yards record. Johnson called an isolation for Loveland route on a must get two point try late in the fourth quarter. Clearing the paint for a rookie tight end is unheard of. Loveland is an impossible cover. Long and rangy. He eats up ground similar to receiver in his route. Stem Levelin is snappy enough to separate from linebackers, but the real issue is how his size and toughness make him nearly impossible to play through. Safeties keep trying to light him up at the catch point with big hits. They look like they're hitting their hit sticking a telephone pole. The real needle mover for Loveland is his blocking ability. He can dig out defensive ends and hold his water one on one in the running game. That makes him doubly dangerous in the pass action in the play action pass game as his pre snap alignment doesn't tip Johnson's hand to opposing defensive coordinators. Safeties and linebackers have to meet him aggressively when he's blocking downhill, but if they guess wrong and he's climbing vertically for a route, their goose is cooked. Yep, Loveland doesn't benefit as much as Burden does from Moore's departure. Moore had 85 targets during the 2025 season. Loveland ended just short of him with 81. Loveland finished the year with four consecutive games of 10 plus targets. Moore never had more than eight in a game. Moore could have returned and it still would have been fair to project Loveland as the most important pass catcher in Chicago. But at this time last year, Johnson was drawing up plays in his office to answer the question how do we get the ball to Moore? What section of the playbook has my more go to's? Those questions are gone and in their place the Loveland go to's will fill more chapters. At this time last season the Bears were hoping to get him healthy soon, but now they're building the offense around his role.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was just going to say that's the guy that can't lose. That's the guy that can't get hurt. Other than your quarterback?

[Matt Abaticola]

Absolutely.

[Dan Bernstein]

Other than you can always replace a running back. You can even replace. Why the guy that they can't lose because of everything that he means to what they do is that guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

Agreed? Agreed. It's it's Caleb Williams. Keep that offensive line healthy, figure out who your left tackle is and Colson Loveland can't be off the field, right? Yeah.

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[Matt Abaticola]

One other I have one one little last note. I don't know if you saw this because we we missed this last night and I don't know how we missed it. I feel like we owe an apology to our audience. The people that like that commit time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, don't send me into the weekend making me kick myself for being stupid.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean I want to be honest and we said we'd be transparent about what we do.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, fair enough.

[Matt Abaticola]

So watching the Cubs game last night and Marquis on the scroll on the bottom was recapping the bear schedule. There's two games we missed this year.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean we missed.

[Matt Abaticola]

There is a game where the Cubs play at the Lions and then the Saints play at the Cubs according to the marquee scroll. I don't know what sport they're playing, I don't know what what game it is they're doing. But I feel bad that we completely missed that last night. I mean we did a special show on the schedule release Dan and did it really?

[Dan Bernstein]

It said Cubs. Say Cubs.

[Matt Abaticola]

Lions. It said Cubs at Lions, Saints at Cubs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh no. Well, my guess is that they're maybe their chiron automatically populates with cubs or it's like your phone when enough times that you type things in. That's just the autocorrect on the chiron. Sure. Just like you have to go back and change it and you've got receipts. Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Exactly like we were in order. They're next to each other.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was just like with her software that made New England pop up when she was looking for NFL and it just bloop. It just, it had to be a technical error.

[Matt Abaticola]

A cub is a small bear. So yeah, I get, you know, unless they were trying to make a point about those games that the bears aren't showing up but the cubs are, they're not going to have their best foot forward when they play the lions.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody's got to look at that. Or maybe there's just nothing that would flag that because it just.

[Matt Abaticola]

Your.

[Dan Bernstein]

All your system always accepts Cubs. I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I just. I think human eyes would have to have flagged it and someone just missed it. And it's. It's unfortunate. But it was funny, though. I went on the couch watching the game and I'm like, but wait, I'm like, give me the remote. I rewound it real quick. And I'm like, I didn't see that. Right. It did say lions at Cubs and Cubs at Saints or other way around. But, yeah, it was good. So sorry we missed that.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is Boog coming back for the. For the crosstown?

[Matt Abaticola]

You know, no offense anyone, but I hope so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. I like Alex and Alex is, you know, he does a good job, but it's just, you know, like, I'm in a comfortable space with my guys now and I want to. Want to stay. I want to stay in that comfort level. He does a nice job filling in. And that's hard to do, to fill into something that's. That's easy and as good as JD And Boog do. So it's. It's a hard place to step into it. But. Yeah, I'm hoping he comes back.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, things are all right. This was a planned time away and he's got a, you know, ESPN stuff and other things that he's working on. So I hope that's okay as well.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Let me just. Again, I'm going to make it very clear. I think Alex does a really nice job. It's a hard thing to do. He's very professional. Very good. Sounds very good. Does it? Calls a good game. And he's not, you know, he's not an idiot that hates numbers and stats like your guy Schmoltz. But. But it's just, you know, it's just it's not my sound and I'm not comfortable with it.

[Dan Bernstein]

So. No. And that's the thing we're gonna. And to get used to as Bears fans this year, the number of different networks, which is good, I think, because you then because football's different that way. You don't have a local TV broadcast team and you end up getting a lot of perspectives from people who maybe haven't seen them or are seeing them for the first time. I like that. I think it's good. What.

[Matt Abaticola]

But we did that a lot last year. We said there was a variety of broadcast booths. But, I mean, don't you think they deserve better than, like the D booth? Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

But we don't know exactly which booth they're getting.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know, but like, CBS kind of. I think CBS kind of rankled the, you know, the fan base a little bit with some of the broadcast booth they had.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. When you're getting Adam Archuleta or whoever it is with. With your. The fourth team, I doesn't bother me as much. I don't. I think that because of the Bears national draw now, certainly, and all the time, that there will be less of that. I think they're going to be featured a whole lot more. And you know what? They're going to be featured on Red Zone because they're always going to be there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, as long as they keep winning, Dan, that's maybe so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Their opponents are also going to be in the red zone a lot, so.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, because they're going to win 52 to 40.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was going to say it's going to be a lot of scoring. They're going to be a frequent guest on. Oh, let's go back to what's happening in the Bears game. Somebody's scoring again. Okay, that's. That's fine. Because they're gonna get their explosive plays and they're gonna score a lot of points and everything's gonna be okay as

[Matt Abaticola]

long as they only have explosive plays and not exploding taint syndrome.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't want that. You do not want fatal taint swelling, and you don't want to make fun of it either.

[Matt Abaticola]

So am I saying, is it not exploding taint syndrome? It's.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's both.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

It can be. It can be both. But like, the first time I heard it on the Jardiance commercial, the first time I heard was fatal taint swelling, because that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Fatal taint swelling. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

They said check for swelling in the area in between the anus and genitals, which could be fatal. And I thought it could

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holy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like that. I'm still kind of freaked out by it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So. And I. And I. I. No, thank you on that. I just want. On the record.

[DISH Network Advertiser]

I don't want that.

[Matt Abaticola]

So fatal taint swelling. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bad. Not.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, you could say exploding taint syndrome, but it just. It's more TV friendly to say check for the swelling in between the area there.

[Dan Bernstein]

They have to say it clinically because. Yeah, because. But that means somebody did die of

[Matt Abaticola]

it because of Jardians.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody took Jardians.

[Matt Abaticola]

That was a side effect. Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

This is. This is itchy. This feels a little weird.

[Matt Abaticola]

Down. Wouldn't you. You wouldn't slump down, though, would you? Wouldn't you shoot up first yeah, because you're exploding.

[Dan Bernstein]

We're not allowed to make. I'm telling you, the doctors. We can't. We have to stop doctors, you know, it's very serious. So I could become 40 days gangrene. And that can be extremely. You don't make fun of things like.

[Matt Abaticola]

Don't Google that. Yeah. Don't go telling you in the camera right now, don't Google.

[Dan Bernstein]

Google it. Do not Google Fournier's gangrene. It will ruin your weekend.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do not do that. And do not fall over the railing at the Sox game tonight.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or, or if you do, do with a lot of people, get a lot of people to fall over at the same time. The whole section's got to go in.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. If the 108's listening, don't listen to Dan, please.

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't. They're not worried about me.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay?

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't worry. They like, if they're. The thing about the 108ers, if they're going to fall, they're not going to bother anybody else. They're just going to fall where they

[Matt Abaticola]

are on top of each other.

[Dan Bernstein]

Each other. They're used to that. That happens with somebody falling because that. That happens. But they've got a protocol. Like, they know what to do. They know whose car to take them to. They know. They know which bar to roll them into the entrance on the way home there. Take care of Steve. Which. Which. Where do we drop him? They know. They go right by and they put him there. So I'm not worried about the 108 point.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, they're. They're. Yeah, they're. They're settled. They're covered. They're good to go.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. It's happened. You're talking about vets at that point. Those are those. When it comes to falling at White Sox games or passing out and all that, I'm not worried about that. It's. It's the, the amateurs that show up there that don't quite know how to do it. So, yeah, if you're going to do it, do it as a group. Have everybody fall in at the same time.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. Well, I hope you enjoyed the schedule release. There was a huge build up to it, and I know if you.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm still recovering. I'm still emotionally and mentally recovering from all of what that was because it takes a toll on me. You know, I might have to take some days off and recover and rest.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, luckily, you have the next two days off, so I do.

[Dan Bernstein]

And today, you know what? I'm gonna Do I'm gonna play bad golf?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep, you're gonna go golfing in your nice polo shirt.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's not a nice polo shirt. It's a twelve dollar old navy shirt.

[Matt Abaticola]

Still nice. It's nice for you.

[Dan Bernstein]

I look at. I have big boy pants on, too. Like actual pants pants.

[Matt Abaticola]

So you always golf in pants?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I usually will golf if shorts are allowed. Like at my dad's club, there's only certain. You have to wear certain things. So when I'm golfing there, it's different. But a public course.

[Matt Abaticola]

I try.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't want to be that guy in like jorts in a tank top, you know? You don't want to be. You go, you look nice. You should look nice to golf.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. But you should never be in jorts and a tank top. You should wear a polo shirt and a pair of golf shorts.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Which I. Which I do.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. I didn't say we should wear jorts and a tank top.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm just like that. I always. I'm always wary of the guy in the trailer park.

[Matt Abaticola]

Of course. Where are you guys going this weekend?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, but, you know, there's always that, like that. That guy there is like, you know, ripping cigs the whole time.

[Matt Abaticola]

You got a. Your trailer's blocking three. You got to move your trailer so we can get the three.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you know, the guy's like, you know, crushing, you know, Bud Light or Bush Light Apple and. And rip and Cigs. Have you heard about, you know, about baffle, like the whole college thing going on with Babel. Bud Light apple.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I've never heard of Bud Light. I've. Bush has no.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. Excuse me. Not. But Bush Light apple.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I've seen. I've seen the apple Bush.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's. You can't get it. It's like the McRib. It's like, I think they have peach.

[Matt Abaticola]

Also, if I'm Maybe I'm making huge

[Dan Bernstein]

thing in Cob Apple is in college and.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, because there's now cans for like $4. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And now there's Keystone apple. I. I didn't think Keystone existed. I had no clue. Keystone Light Apple, they're calling Cabel.

[Matt Abaticola]

I knew I'd seen this. Bush Light peach. Yep. I'm looking at it right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

That ain't for me, but yeah, always smooth. Keystone Light Apple Capel.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, on that. Enjoy your golf.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can't enjoy my golf. I'm not good enough. Well, that's not true.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe you're spending time with your son and you're outside in the beautiful day.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's true. And I'll see some birds and it's. Yeah, you're correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Thank you. I will enjoy it both.

[Matt Abaticola]

You stay off your phones. You'll be fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm turning it off right now. Okay, done.

[Matt Abaticola]

Say bye.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bye. Forward progress is stopped.

[Matt Abaticola]

Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Everybody talked about it since I first moved to Oregon. The big one. The earthquake that trashed the whole West Coast. Total destruction.

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[Dan Bernstein]

I just didn't know what would help me next.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I took it all.

[Grainger and Cordelio Quattro Advertiser]

Even the gun.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was time Cello see why American

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