Chicago Bears Face a Brutal Late-Season Stretch That Will Determine Their Season

The Bears will need to bring their A-game if they want to survive past Thanksgiving. They will have to run the gauntlet from that point onward.

Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions helmets at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine Experience at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

We now know the full extent of the Chicago Bears' 2026 schedule following the official release on Thursday evening. Honestly, the decision makers did the Bears a few favors with the way their schedule was laid out. They won't be facing any teams coming off a bye and will have a historic rest advantage.

Notably, they will also play five primetime games and a total of seven standalone contests (basically a primetime game with all eyes across the NFL landscape glued on them). If last season is any indication, that is a win for both the Bears and the league office.

However, with the league's toughest path in terms of projected win totals, they were always destined to have a few tough stretches featuring difficult matchups. They will have a tough three-game stretch in the weeks leading up to their bye week (which will include games against both teams in last year's Super Bowl), but their toughest test will come after the break in action.

The Bears will have to run the gauntlet over the home stretch

Feb 4, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; A locker room exhibit with the helmets and jerseys of Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (18), Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10), Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) at the Super Bowl LX Experience at the Moscone Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Bears will have a relatively soft landing spot after their bye week with a home matchup against the Saints. However, the competition will immediately ramp up from there, as they'll head to Detroit on Thanksgiving before hosting Jacksonville the following week. They'll then travel to Miami (thank god for that one) and Buffalo before closing the year with three straight divisional matchups against the Packers, Lions, and Vikings.

Besides the Dolphins, that is an absolute murderer's row of opponents over the final seven weeks. They'll be forced to go on the road three times in the span of four weeks, including clashes in two of the league's most difficult road environments in Detroit and Buffalo. The only break in that span will come against a team that won 13 games last season, the Jaguars.

With that said, they are somewhat lucky to host games against the Packers (on Christmas Day) and Lions in Weeks 16 and 17 before traveling to Minnesota for the season finale. While the Vikings could be better next season, they seem to be firmly behind Green Bay and Detroit in the pecking order. Closing out the regular season on the home turf of either of their other two rivals would've been a much tougher draw.

'Bear weather' could also do them some favors

Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Two workers use snowblowers to clear snow from the end zone during the first quarter of an NFC Divisional Round game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Bear weather might not be the cure-all for a Bears' victory (as we saw against Los Angeles in last season's NFC Divisional Round matchup). However, there's no doubting that the conditions that day affected Matthew Stafford and the Rams' usual high-powered offense. They escaped with a 20-17 overtime win after leading the league in points (30.5 per game) during the regular season. Stafford completed less than half his pass attempts, and they were also more than 50 yards (340 vs. 394) under their average yards per game for the season.

Yes, the Bears lost the game, but they outgained the league's top-ranked offense by 77 yards in the process. They lost the game because Chicago threw three interceptions (a fact that makes their yards disparity even more impressive), including one in overtime that practically sealed it. Wintry conditions matter for teams who aren't accustomed to them.

Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon (6) sacks Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the second quarter of an NFC Divisional Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The game that sticks out like a sore thumb when it comes to the weather factor is their Week 13 matchup against the Jaguars. The December 6th weather in Chicago could be unforgiving to an opponent who plays their home games in sunny Jacksonville, Florida.

Unfortunately, the Jaguars will also travel to New York to take on the Giants two weeks before coming to Chicago. While late-November weather in New York isn't as bankable as early-December weather in the Windy City, it still could be a ramp-up game for them ahead of their tougher test in Week 13.

Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; A worker uses a snowblower to clear snow from the field during the second quarter of an NFC Divisional Round game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Unlike Jacksonville, the Lions won't play any cold-weather games before making the trip to Chicago on January 3rd. In fact, they'll only play three open-weather games before that matchup, with the most recent coming nearly two months earlier when they travel to Miami. Both of their potential cold-weather matchups (besides their season-finale clash in Green Bay) will be over by the first week of October.

The game will have a 3:25 kickoff, too. The sun will be going down before the start of the second half, and, even if there won't be any snow, it's bound to be BRISK.