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Bear Digest

A Chicago Bears Schedule Wish List for the NFL to Ponder and Reject

From the Packers visit at night to the lakefront, to the Seattle season opener, we break down the 10 things the Bears need from the 2026 schedule, and why the NFL will likely ignore them.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears fans couldn't mind another chance for a scene like this against the Packers at night, possibly a Thursday.
Bears fans couldn't mind another chance for a scene like this against the Packers at night, possibly a Thursday. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

In true NFL fashion, once an edict is put down it is then ignored.

Just like with the Rooney Rule being ignored so the Bears could be deprived of two third-round draft picks, now the Bears will not benefit from a trip to Spain for a game with the Falcons at Madrid. This would have been a benefit for them because it's a road game, but their own international following and overall fan indifference toward Atlanta would have made that more like a Chicago home game. The Bears already have nine home games and that game at Madrid could have essentially been a 10th home game.

They didn't get it because the league let out that the Bengals will be in the game at Madrid against Atlanta. They did this despite the fact the Bears are one of three teams with league marketing rights to Madrid. Neither Atlanta nor Cincinnati has marketing rights in Madrid.

That's just another NFL edict they chose to ignore, just like the Rooney Rule. And so the Bears will play Atlanta in Atlanta.

There are still other things the Bears can wish for, and probably not get, because, after all, this is a league where Chicago has a negative penalty differential of a whopping league-worst 795 yards since 2022. No one else is even close. Officials really need to hate you for this to happen. Official Tony Corrente can't even be blamed because he retired in 2022.

Here is a Bears wish list for the 2026 schedule.

1. Seattle opener

Playing the Seahawks when the Seahawks are full of themselves, when they're debuting a new inexperienced offensive play caller/coordinator, and when they have a revamped secondary, is exactly what the Bears should want. It's tough playing in Seattle, but doing it in an opener can offset some of Seattle's advantage.  Unscouted looks by the Bears' defense have a better chance of working in Seattle against a play caller in his first game. The Bears have to like their chances in the first game even against Seattle's 12th man, and if it doesn't work out then they have four days before they need to be back at Halas Hall preparing for the next game because this is a Wednesday season opener.

This looks more and more like reality because Kansas City has been slated to open on Monday night at home with Denver, according to a schedule leak. The most likely Seattle opponent then shifts to the Bears, L.A. Chargers and Patriots. Usually interconference opponents haven't been pitted against each other in this game.

2. An easier finish

It might be difficult to do considering the tough slate of opponents the Bears have. But the league owes the Bears. Last year in Johnson's first season they had to play five of their last seven games against playoff teams and six of the last seven against teams with winning records. They held their own, won the division and it worked out. But come on now, how about less of a meat grinder to finish the season?

3. Mid-Bye

A bye week placed a little closer to the middle of the schedule would be more advantageous, and a departure for the Bears.

The league usually jerks the Bears around on this, too. It's better having a bye week later because injuries can heal up, but the best byes are midseason during Weeks 9, 10 and 11. The Bears haven't been given their bye in that midseason stretch of weeks since 2021.

They had ridiculously early byes in 2024 and 2025, in Weeks 5 and Week 7. They weren't even past mid-October and were given off. Later, when they had injuries and needed the time off, they didn't get it.

In 2023 and 2022 they had extremely late byes. By then, your team can be beaten up and loaded up on IR. Those byes were in Weeks 13 and 14.

Is it too much to ask to get a bye somewhere in Weeks 9, 10 or 11? With their luck, the league will give them a Week 3 bye or a Week 17 bye.

4. Bear weather!

The Bears have the Buccaneers, Jaguars, Saints, Vikings and Lions coming to Soldier Field at some point. How about a late November, December or January date for those teams? The Florida teams will just love that 10-below zero weather with a -25 wind chill. It gets pretty cold in Jacksonville, but not that cold. A home game in January or late December against the Vikings would be good for a change. They're the dome weather Vikings and no longer a team for cold weather, and they haven't had to come to Chicago for a really cold weather game in 2023, 2024 or 2025. All the games were either in Minnesota's dome or held in Chicago when the weather was warmer.

5. Week 2 dream opponent

If they're forced to open at Seattle, then their Week 2 reward should be playing the Jets at Soldier Field at noon in Week 2. It would only be fair. One tough one, followed by a punching bag so they can get their feet back on the ground if they fail at Seattle.

6. Dolphins in December

Playing the Dolphins on the road in September or October is no fun for a cooler-climate team. Getting to play Miami in a night game in December or November when it's cool would save the Bears from drinking pickle juice all week in order to avoid cramps when they get down south in the muggy Sunday afternoon heat.

7. No Sunday night games

They have lost nine straight regular-season games on Sunday Night Football. Good noon, 3 p.m. or 3:25 p.m. games would be just fine.

8. No Monday night games

They play well in those sometimes, but if they do have one it means everyone must listen to Troy Aikman badmouth Caleb Williams again. And George McCaskey has something against Joe Buck.

9. Packers Thursday night at Soldier Field

Twice last year the Bears beat Green Bay in dramatic fashion at night at Soldier Field, once in the playoffs. Considering they had beaten the Packers only once since 2010 at Solider Field, and the time they did it in 2010 was a night game, they'd be much better off playing the Packers in Chicago in a replay of last year's night-time fun on the lake.

Sure, this could mean playing the Packers with Buck and Aikman announcing, or maybe on a Sunday night when the Bears never win. The perfect solution would be a Bears-Packers Thursday night game at Soldier Field. Make it a Thursday night game because the Bears have won four of their last six on Thursday Night Football.

From 2011-2024 the two rivals played 13 night games and 12 were in Green Bay. The league owes the Bears quite a few more night games with the Packers, and the Bears games at Lambeau should be in the daylight.

10. No Christmas Day game

The late, great Doug Buffone once expressed anguish on his WSCR AM-670 show because the holiday season was detracting from his enjoyment of a Bears run to the playoffs.

"Why couldn't baby Jesus have been born after the playoffs?!!" Buffone said.

Dougie wouldn't have liked all of these streamed holiday games either, that’s for sure.

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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.

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