Chicago Bears 2026 Schedule Release Leaks Tracker: Multiple Primetime Games Appear Set

Follow along with our tracker for all of the latest leaked and confirmed games on the Chicago Bears' 2026 schedule. We will update this as leaks are verified.

Nov 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Bears TE Cole Kmet scores a touchdown defended by Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Update: As of Thursday morning, about 12 hours before the full schedule will be released, reports suggest the Bears have two primetime games set. Week 3 (Sept. 28), Chicago is rumored to be hosting the Eagles on Monday Night Football, and Week 9 (Nov. 8), they'll host the Bucs on Sunday Night Football. This goes on top of the opener vs. the Panthers, and the Thanksgiving day game vs. the Lions.

Update: Jordan Schultz reported the Bears will head to Detroit to take on the Lions on Thanksgiving. While there was no formal announcement of the week, according to the layout of the schedule, it will be Week 12.

In just a few short days, Chicago Bears fans will be able to start planning out their own schedule for the 2026 NFL season.

That's because the league is dropping the official schedule for the Bears and the other 31 teams in the NFL on Thursday, May 14. The release will be broadcast on ESPN and NFL Network at 7 p.m. CT, but you can simply check in on the Bears' social media for the fastest and most direct method.

But we might get a decent chunk of the schedule before then, as there will be leaks over the course of the days and hours leading up to when teams start revealing their slates.

We'll be tracking those leaks below, but remember that unless the game has been confirmed by the league, it is only rumored and could be off the mark. We'll be noting that in our tracker. The earliest rumor is that of the Bears potentially playing at the defending champion Seahawks in the season-opener (perhaps Rome Odunze's biggest opportunity to help Chicago make up for a thin defensive line).

Bears 2026 schedule leaks tracker

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Week	Opponent	Date	Time	Channel	Status
1	@ Panthers	Sept. 13	TBA	TBA	Rumored
2
3	vs. Eagles	Sept. 28 (MNF)	8:20 p.m. ET	ESPN	Rumored
4
5
6
7
8
9	vs. Bucs	Nov. 8 (SNF)	8:20 p.m. ET	NBC	Rumored
10
11
12	@ Lions	Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving)	TBA	TBA	Rumored
13
14
15
16
17
18

RELATED: Predicting Bears primetime games for 2026 season

Bears schedule rumors

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | David Banks-Imagn Images

• With the Chiefs playing the Broncos in Week 1 confirmed, that now leaves just four teams in the mix to play the Seahawks in Week 1, including the Bears, Chargers, Broncos and Patriots.
• Both ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo are making the educated guess that the Bears will open the season against the Seahawks.

Bears' 2026 opponents

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

As we wait for the dates and times of all 17 Bears games in 2026, let's take a look at who it is they will be playing, something we've known since the end of last regular season.

Home games: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints

Away games: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks

Bears' 2026 strength of schedule

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

There are two methods used to calculate strength of schedule: 2026 win totals from Vegas oddsmakers and opponent win percentages from 2025.

For the former method, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis did the math for us and showed that the Bears have the sixth-toughest schedule in the NFL for 2026.

The latter method shows the Bears have the most difficult schedule in the NFL.

We tend to lean on the 2026 win totals method because it actually reflects what teams have done during the offseason and we know there's a lot of change from year to year in the NFL.

The Bears have a whopping seven playoff teams from the 2025 campaign on their schedule, including the Seahawks, Panthers, Packers, Eagles, Jaguars, Patriots and Bills.

Even some of the teams that didn't make the playoffs last season are going to be tough. We would put the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints on that list.

The two easiest games on Chicago's schedule are the Dolphins and Jets, both of whom have a long rebuild ahead.

The Bears haven't made the playoffs in back-to-back years since all the way back in 2005-2006. The road to breaking that drought won't be easy for Chicago.