2018 Bears schedule presents several enticing travel options

For Bears fans who enjoy picking one road game each season to attend, the 2018 schedule offers some attractive destinations.

If I'm ranking the top choices, No. 1 is Miami in mid-October against the Dolphins. There's never a bad time to spend a few days on South Beach, and there's a better-than-even chance the Dolphins will be worse than last year's 6-10 bunch of misfits. So it's one of the Bears' best chances to steal a rare road victory. They were just 2-6 away from home last year, which was a huge improvement over their oh-for-2016 road record.

Coming in at No. 2 is San Francisco, an ideal location for a pre-holiday getaway. Maybe the Bears can avenge last year's gut-wrenching, 15-14 loss to the 49ers at Soldier Field, courtesy of five Robbie Gould field goals, including the game-winner with four seconds remaining. As an added benefit for Chicago-area fans, it's an opportunity to see Arlington Heights native and 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who took the Bay Area by storm last year after his trade from the Patriots. Jimmy G. went 5-0 down the stretch as the starter after taking over a team that was 1-10 without him. Naturally, Garoppolo's first start was in the 49ers' victory against the Bears.

Though not usually considered a hot tourist attraction, being in Green Bay's hallowed Lambeau Field for the Sept. 9 season opener in prime time against the Packers would be special. The smell of grilled bratwurst wafting through parking lots full of tailgaters reminds one of what Soldier Field should aspire to on game day. Even if you don't actually get a ticket to go inside, the pregame atmosphere is one of the best in the NFL, especially when thermal underwear isn't a necessity.

Coming in fourth is the greater Phoenix area for the Week Three game against the Cardinals. This game would rank higher on my list, but it's on Sept. 23, at which time the average high temperature is right around 100. Dry heat or not, that's hot. Like the Bears, the Cardinals have a new head coach, Steve Wilks, and they could be ripe for the plucking.

As for the overall schedule, on paper, the Bears have a relatively tough slate. Based on last season's records, Matt Nagy's team is tied for the eighth-toughest schedule. Their 2018 foes had a combined .520 winning percentage (133-123) last year. The Bears' NFC North opponents in Green Bay have the toughest schedule of all in the upcoming season. The Packers' opponents were a combined 138-118 last year for a .539 winning percentage. The whole strength-of-schedule thing often winds up meaning very little, since every year there are teams that improve dramatically from the previous season and other that become much worse.

The good news for Nagy and Co. is that the early schedule gives them an opportunity to build some momentum that has been missing early in recent seasons. Last year's team started 1-4, which was an improvement over the 1-6 start in 2016.

This year, the Bears play just one team in the first six weeks that had a winning record in 2017. That's in Week Two, at home against the Seahawks, who were 9-7 last year but are in a transition phase. After the opener against the Packers (7-9), the next road game is against the Cardinals (8-8) and then there's a home game against the Buccaneers (5-11). The Bears get an early bye in Week Five before they travel to Miami to face the Dolphins.

That's on paper, of course.

• Bob LeGere is a senior writer at Pro Football Weekly. Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere or @PFWeekly.