Leaking the NFL Schedule

It's NFL Schedule Release Day, possibly the day when the worst-kept secrets are certified.

Already there have been schedule leaks. The Bears and Packers at Soldier Field in the season opener on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 3:25 p.m. will be telecast by Fox. This much has been reported by FanNation's Packer Central publisher Bill Huber, as the entire Packers schedule has been revealed before the official release time.

These are not official at this point, just reports and mere rumors.

Here are the leaks to date.

Very interesting https://t.co/rPiIyhBGnY
— Greg Gabriel (@ggabefootball) May 11, 2023

Week 1, Packers at Bears, Sunday, Sept. 10, 3:25 p.m.

A game to be telecast by Fox and the 35th time these teams have played in the opener. The Bears still own the opener edge but only because of their dominance in the series during the 1930s and 1940s. They lead 17-15-2 in openers against the Packers but their last win in one was when Devin Hester made his first TD return at Lambeau Field in 2006, the year they went to the Super Bowl. The Bears won that one 26-0 as Peanut Tillman and Danieal Manning picked off Brett Favre passes.

More importantly, this also is the first game for QB Jordan Love as the regular Packers QB starter. Until now, his only start has been a 13-7 loss to Kansas City in 2021.

Week 3, Bears at Chiefs, Sunday, Sept. 24, 3:25 p.m.

The new Chiefs offensive coordinator will probably put his game plan from this game all over the wall in one of the rooms at his house in Kansas City. That would be Matt Nagy. Who will actually be calling the plays then, though? Patrick Mahomes vs. Justin Fields is going to make it far more interesting than the last time these teams played in the regular season.

Week 5, Bears at Washington, Thursday, Oct. 5, 7:15 p.m.

This is a Thursday night game on Prime network that is a rematch of last year's Thursday night game in Chicago. The Bears lost that one when Darnell Mooney was ruled to have bobbled his catch just inside the end zone and then got possession as he fell back without scoring at game's end. This was the second game Velus Jones Jr. muffed a punt in the second half, leading to a 12-7 defeat.

Week 6, Vikings at Bears, Sunday, Oct. 15, TBA

Minnesota helped its offense in the draft, but still has some defensive questions. The Bears' rebuilt defense gets a chance to rattle Kirk Cousins. The Bears haven't won a game over the Vikings since 2020.

Week 10, Panthers at Bears, Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:15 p.m.

The league decided teams can play more than one Thursday night game this year and so the Bears are one of those who get to do it, apparently. Good luck with that. DJ Moore's revenge game and it will be on national TV as the Bears try to contain Bryce Young.

Week 11 Bears at Lions, Sunday, Nov. 19, TBA

Running back David Montgomery faces the Bears. They don't get the Thanksgiving game, but will play at Ford Field the week before Thanksgiving and look for a bit of redemption after being routed by the Lions last year in Ford Field 41-10.

Week 12, Bears at Vikings, Monday, Nov. 27, 7:15 p.m.

Monday Night Football for the Bears and it's going to be a difficult one in the noise at the dome in Minneapolis.

Week 14, Lions at Bears, Sunday, Dec. 10, TBA

The rematch but now it' s David Montgomery returning to his home stadium for four years. The positive about two later games against the Lions is perhaps the Bears have figured out how to block Aidan Hutchinson by this point.

Week 15, Bears at Browns, Sunday, Dec. 17, TBA

Certainly Fields will have this one marked as it's where he made his first start and was sacked nine times. No longer is Matt Nagy running the offense to give Fields five blockers against a seven- or eight-man rush. Nothing like a trip to Cleveland on the lakefront in mid-December for Fields, who says he doesn't like playing in the cold. At least he'll be used to it at this point.

Week 18, Bears at Packers, TBA

Reported with the Packers schedule release by Packer Central's Bill Huber, this game's date and time is indefinite at the moment. The NFL will move two games with playoff implications to Saturday, Jan. 6 for telecast on ESPN and ABC at 3:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Another game that has playoff implications will be put on Sunday Night Football on NBC.

The Bears last closed the regular season with Green Bay in a 35-16 loss during the 2020 season. They made the playoffs as a wild card anyway as Arizona lost to the Rams on that day.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven