Get excited: 0-3 Bears play 2 more prime-time games before midseason

Sick of watching the listless and 0-3 Chicago Bears in prime time after the team filled the national broadcast airwaves in Weeks 2 and 3?

We have some bad news for you.

The Bears are scheduled to play in prime time two more times this season: Week 7 (at Green Bay) and Week 8 (vs. Vikings).

That's right, the Bears have four prime-time games in the first half of the season. Some teams play only one prime-time game all year.

And those Bears games are locked into the schedule, as they fall on a Thursday and a Monday. Only "Sunday Night Football" games from Week 5 onward can be flexed out of the prime time schedule if the NFL finds a preferable matchup from that day's slate.

It's hard to tell what the schedule-makers were thinking when they gave the Bears so many early-season prime-time games. Sure, Chicago is a big market and that's good for ratings, but did anyone expect the Bears to be an exciting team?

NFL TV ratings are down this season, and with the prospect of several unappealing prime-time games in the next few weeks, that trend might not reverse itself.