Skip to main content
Bear Digest

Bears Finally Got Respect, and the NFL Made Them Pay With This 2026 Schedule

The Bears earned the spotlight in 2026, but seven national TV windows, two holiday games and a brutal stretch could make Chicago pay for its rapid rise.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff exchange pleasantries after the Thanksgiving Day game in 2024.
Caleb Williams and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff exchange pleasantries after the Thanksgiving Day game in 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

The Bears have Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams to blame for all of this.

A better players union and a league somewhat less infatuated with its own ability to generate cash might have helped avoid it. The Bears wil be overexposed in 2026 because of their popularity last year.

The Bears would have had a tremendously difficult schedule for 2026 anyway, at least if you go by last year's winning percentages. Gambling and analytic websites determine their strength of schedule differently, but facing teams who finished first instead of last in 2025 is a step up in competition no matter what type of calculator you use.

Now, with the schedule out, it's going to be made all the more difficult for numerous reasons. A major one is holiday entertainment. Only turkeys are abused more on Thanksgiving and Christmas than the Bears will be this year, and can't help it because they're just so darned tasty. The Bears' excuse? They were just too good last year without winning anything after the wild-card round.

When reports came out Wednesday about the season opener for the league being a Super Bowl rematch, and the Bears opening instead at Carolina, some fans might have breathed a sigh of relief. Those in the know would tell you that first game at Seattle would have been a perfect opener for Chicago. Johnson already experienced one of those road NFL openers at Kansas City while with Detroit and came away a winner, so he knew how to get it done. But there is no such chance to be center stage at the outset in this one.

Chicago Bears 2026 schedule

Date

Opponent

Time, TV

Week 1, Sunday, Sept. 13

At Panthers

Noon, Fox

Week 2, Sunday, Sept. 20

Vikings

Noon, Fox

Week 3 Monday, Sept. 28

Eagles

7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC

Week 4, Sunday, Oct. 4

Jets

Noon, Fox

Week 5, Sunday, Oct. 11

At Packers

3:25 p.m., Fox

Week 6, Sunday, Oct. 18

At Falcons

Noon, Fox

Week 7, Thursday, Oct. 22

Patriots

7:15 p.m., Prime

Week 8, Monday, Nov. 2

At Seahawks

7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC

Week 9, Sunday, Nov. 8

Buccaneers

7:20 p.m., NBC

Week 10

Bye week

Week 11, Sunday Nov. 22

Saints

Noon, Fox

Week 12, Thursday, Nov. 26

At Lions

Noon, CBS

Week 13, Sunday, Dec. 6

Jaguars

Noon, Fox

Week 14, Sunday, Dec. 13

At Dolphins

Noon, CBS

Week 15, Saturday Dec. 17

At Bills

7:20 p.m., CBS

Week 16, Friday, Dec 25

Packers

Noon, Netflix

Week 17, Sunday, Jan. 3

Lions

3:25 p.m., Fox

Week 18, TBA

At Vikings

TBA

What has resulted is a grueling schedule, largely the result of Johnson bringing the Bears around quickly. Give some blame to Williams for being so spectacular at crunch time last season. Then there is the player's union, which is either: 1) totally weak, 2) in cahoots with the league, 3) or both. Finally there are the league cash hounds who snap up every possible dollar, whether streaming, cable, or otherwise.

Here's where the Bears really get a raw deal on this 2026 schedule.

NFL's turkeys and Scrooge

So the Bears get to play on Christmas and on Thanksgiving, or rather, have to play on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're at Detroit for the traditional pursuit of the turducken and then on Christmas they host the Packers as the league hopes for a replay of last year's late-season Bears-Packers trclassics.

The NFL started squeezing the NBA out of a TV monopoly on Christmas as this decade began, and has been so effective that next decade you'll probably see NBA holiday games appearing only on TV outside this country or streaming on the channels that televise cricket, team handball and hurling. That's hurling the sport and not what happens the morning after a big night out.

It is very taxing to make NFL players and their families absorb two holiday games in a month. Doing this is probably a reason the league doesn't want union player surveys made public.

If the union had teeth, they wouldn't allow the NFL to keep players from their families on both holidays. However, they lost their stomachs for anything except taking owners' handouts back in 1987.

Of course, you can't count on the NFL to simply be logical about it and do the right thing unless you're talking about a logical way to make more money.

When this recent trend to take up every conceivable holiday with NFL games began — admittedly Sweetest Day, Yom Kippur, Diwali, Hanukkah and possibly Citizenship Day haven't been exploited yet but just wait — the league tried to avoid making teams play both on Christmas and Thanksgiving in the same season.

Then they did it to the 49ers in 2023 and last year to the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Lions.

Making the Chiefs do this type of thing is understandable. They have Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift. Now the Bears must do it. The Bears do have a Taylor but he's not swift. He's a punter.

Remember the last time the Bears commanded this kind of interest from the league office and networks? It was the opening game of the 100th NFL season, and the Bears scored three points in a 10-3 loss at home (2019) to Green Bay.

It's too late to warn the NFL to be careful what they wish for because they've already committed. Maybe they could still flex the Bears out of holiday games if they turn out to be overrated and lose a lot in October. Then it would be a little like a holiday gift return, except before Christmas.

Talk about disruption

Playing twice on Thursdays (Lions and Patriots), once on a Friday (Christmas), also a Saturday (Bills) and Monday (Eagles), besides a Sunday night (Buccaneers) is simply too much to ask of the Bears if the league wants to see a quality product.

Seven prime or "stand-alone" type of games seems like an awful lot. Some fans see it as a sign of respect, but they don't have it taking a toll on their bodies like players.

It could be worse. There's still a few good Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons available where they could fit the Bears in for a game. Maybe the networks can flex them in for a 4 a.m. Tuesday game.

No one should complain too loudly, though. At least they weren't forced to go through the ordeal of playing a game in another country, like England, Spain, Australia, or California.

Give me a break

By and large, there is decent spacing with this schedule's most arduous tests, except with one teeny, tiny task.

The league is making the Bears play back-to-back games against last year's two Super bowl teams, Week 7 hosting the Patriots and Week 8 at Seattle. Of course, both are night games, and they're in a stretch of three straight night games.

Fortunately, they've been given their bye after those two games and the ensuing home game against Tampa Bay. The Week 10 bye is very good point place for a week away before the holiday crunch begins. Maybe the Bears' families could have their Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations during that bye week on Nov. 15.

At least the league did this much for the Bears, who will be overexposed this year.

NFL holiday game participants

2020: Saints, Vikings, Commanders, Cowboys, Texans, Lions

2021: Packers, Browns, Cardinals, Colts, Bears, Lions, Raiders, Cowboys, Saints, Bills

2022: Packers, Dolphins, Rams, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals Cowboys, Giants, Patriots, Vikings,  Bills, Lions

2023: Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Commanders, 49ers*, Seahawks,  Raiders, Chiefs, Eagles, Giants, Ravens

2024: Bears, Lions, Giants, Cowboys, Dolphins, Packers, Chiefs,  Steelers, Ravens, Texans

2025:  Lions*, Packers, Chiefs*, Cowboys*, Bengals, Ravens, Vikings, Commanders, Broncos

*Played both on Christmas and Thanksgiving

X: BearsOnSI

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

Home/News