There are still two games left for the Chicago Bears to play. Plenty of importance lay behind them both. On the one hand it will decide what their final draft position will be come next April. On another they could very well decide the fates of the entire coaching staff. John Fox remains in hot water after a significant regression from the year before.

Yet the NFL schedule makers aren’t tied to 2016 anymore. They’re already focused on what’s going to happen in 2017. According to recent reports, the final slate of opponents for every team has been determined. It will still be awhile before actual schedules are in place, but the Bears now know who they can expect to play come next year.

#Bears 2017 opponents are finalized:

Home: DET, GB, MN, ATL, CAR, SF, CLE, PIT.

Road: DET, GB, MN, TB, NO, PHI, CIN, BAL — Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) December 19, 2016

Of course there is always the divisional matchups. Where it gets interesting is the remaining teams. By the look of it the Bears will be playing against the NFC South and the AFC North divisions next year along with rematches against the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. Four of those teams are likely to finish with a winning record this season. To say nothing of Carolina and New Orleans each having All-Pro quarterbacks.

It seems almost too fitting. This season was supposed to be the one that Chicago used to make the playoffs. Projections indicated it was the second-easiest schedule in the NFL. Now here the team is at 3-11. Next year looks like it’s going to be considerably tougher sledding. If John Fox is able to survive the ax and get a third year, he’s going to have to save his job the hard way.

At that point it will be clear whether or not this Bears team is headed in the right direction after three years under GM Ryan Pace. All one can do is sit back and see what happens next.