The Chicago Bears have officially released their 2026 schedule, which features some hotly-anticipated match-ups during Ben Johnson’s second season as head coach.
The Bears are coming off an impressive 2025 season, where they posted an 11-6 record, winning the NFC North and winning their first playoff game in nearly two decades. Now, Chicago will look to retain their division crown while dealing with some big losses and new faces on the roster.
In addition to facing their NFC foes twice, the Bears will play the NFC South and AFC East next season, which includes home games against the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as away games against the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers. With the Bears finishing first in the NFC North, they’ll also face the same-place finishers in the NFC East, NFC West and AFC South.
Here are way-too-early game-by-game predictions from Bears Wire:
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Week 1: at Carolina Panthers
The Bears open the season on the road against the Panthers, which will feature a battle of two division winners from last season. It will also feature a matchup between a pair of former No. 1 overall picks in quarterback Caleb Williams and Bryce Young. Right now, this feels like a good way to open the season with a road victory. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings
It’s another early-season matchup between the Bears and Vikings, where Chicago is positioned to retain their stance atop the division. Minnesota will likely have a new quarterback in Kyler Murray starting, but the Bears also have Caleb Williams at their disposal. Like last year’s meetings, expect this one to be a close divisional matchup, but I expect Chicago to emerge victorious and start the season 2-0. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Monday Night Football)
After last year’s thrilling game on Black Friday, where the Bears dominated in the trenches and Ben Johnson celebrated by taking his shirt off, it’s no wonder the NFL wants Chicago and Philadelphia back in prime time. These are two of the best teams in the NFC, and I expect this to be a close game where, unfortunately, the Bears fall just short. PREDICTION: LOSS
Week 4: vs. New York Jets
Former Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will square off in Week 4, where it’s offense vs. defense prowess. Given the state of both teams, and the Bears’ rising ranks among top offenses, Chicago gets the edge at home in a game that could be get away from New York. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 5: at Green Bay Packers
The Packers could very well be without Micah Parsons when Chicago and Green Bay meet at Lambeau Field in an early NFC North matchup, which certainly gives the edge to the Bears, who went 2-0 when Parsons was out last season. Chicago was a Caleb Williams interception away from going 3-0 against the Packers last season, so I could see them capitalizing without Parsons on the field and notching a second divisional win. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons
The Bears will face off against former assistant GM Ian Cunningham’s roster, which has undergone plenty of changes, but this is a game where Chicago’s offense should capitalize. Before a gauntlet of three consecutive prime-time games, the Bears get a much-needed win to start 5-1 on the season. While the Bears were robbed of their compensatory picks, they won’t be robbed of this victory. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 7: vs. New England Patriots (Thursday Night Football)
The Bears will face off against the reigning AFC champion Patriots on Thursday Night Football, where Chicago has a chance to make an early statement. This matchup will feature a battle between 2024 quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, who have been compared early in their careers, and this is an opportunity for Williams to remind everyone why he was the No. 1 overall pick. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 8: at Seattle Seahawks (Monday Night Football)
This might be the Bears’ toughest challenge this season facing the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks on the road in prime time. Seattle’s defense was a dominant force last season, which could present some problems for Caleb Williams. This will also serve as a homecoming for Coby Bryant, who departed the Seahawks in free agency this offseason. While Chicago will put up a fight, this one proves to be too challenging. PREDICTION: LOSS
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Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday Night Football)
It’s difficult to predict what this Buccaneers team will look like with some big losses, including Mike Evans, Jamel Dean and Lavonte David, and how they failed to win a struggling NFC South division. With that said, the Bears will be playing in their third straight prime-time game before their bye week, so this game could very well catch them on a short week or it could be the perfect way to ride momentum into their break. But it certainly helps having home field advantage. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 10: BYE WEEK
After last year’s super early Week 5 bye, this feels like a win for the Bears, especially after a three-game prime-time slate. At this predicted bye week, Chicago sits comfortably at 6-3.
Week 11: vs. New Orleans Saints
The Bears will face the Saints for the second straight season, where they have an opportunity to earn their first winning streak against New Orleans since 2008. The Saints are still rebuilding under head coach Kellen Moore, having upgraded the roster around quarterback Tyler Shough, but they’re far from a formidable opponent. Fresh off a week of rest and returning home, Chicago kicks off the second half of the season with a victory. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 12: at Detroit Lions (Thanksgiving)
Ben Johnson is 0-2 against his former team, and I predict that changes on a national stage as the Bears battle the Lions on Thanksgiving in Detroit. After the 52-21 whooping last year at Ford Field and a rough loss to close out the regular season at home, Johnson will have his team ready to go and finally record the first (of hopefully many) wins over his former squad. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 13: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
This is the kind of scheduling advantage that plays right into the Bears’ hands — welcoming a warm-weather Jaguars team to what’s surely going to be a chilly Chicago in December. Jacksonville was a success story last season behind Trevor Lawrence and first-year head coach Liam Coen, but Ben Johnson and the elements might prove to be too much. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 14: at Miami Dolphins
This is another scheduling outcome that benefits the Bears as they get to battle the Dolphins in early December, where the heat shouldn’t give Miami an advantage. While new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley could give Ben Johnson’s offense some fits, like he did in Green Bay, this is a game that the Bears should win given the state of both teams. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 15: at Buffalo Bills (Saturday night)
How about a little snow in late November between two teams that know it well. The Bears will face a talented Bills squad at the new Highmark Stadium on a Saturday night matchup on CBS, where DJ Moore will get a chance to face off against his former team. Buffalo is a formidable opponent even on a neutral field, so it’ll be even more difficult to take them down at home. PREDICTION: LOSS
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Week 16: vs. Green Bay Packers (Christmas Day)
Let’s hope it’s a Merry Christmas for the Bears when they host the Packers for a national game on Netflix. Micah Parsons will most assuredly be back for this one, so we’ll see how Chicago’s pass protection holds up. Now, it’s been awhile since the Bears swept the Packers (2007 to be exact), but they were a Caleb Williams interception away from accomplishing the feat last season. So why not, let’s go for a sweep on Christmas. PREDICTION: WIN
Week 17: vs. Detroit Lions
In the second of three divisional games to close out the year, I have the Bears dropping a close one to the Lions, which could very well have ramifications in the NFC North race. I hate to predict two straight losses to close out the season, but that’s the price to pay when I have Chicago winning on Thanksgiving. PREDICTION: LOSS
Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings
While this is the most optimistic I’ll be all year about a game-by-game prediction, even I have a difficult time expecting a 13-win season from the Bears. With that said, a third divisional game to close out the regular season won’t be an easy task for Chicago, which results in another loss to close out the regular season before a playoff bid. PREDICTION: LOSS
Bears’ way-too-early 2026 record prediction: 12-5
Chicago has the most-difficult schedule this season (by last year’s results), which includes stints against the AFC East and NFC South, as well as facing their division foes twice. While every game is winnable, there are some difficult stretches and no shortage of prime-time and holiday games. With that in mind, my way-too-early predictions (the most optimistic I’ll be at any point this year) has the Bears finishing the 2026 NFL season at 12-5, where they sweep the Packers and split with the Lions and Vikings, and it could very well be enough to win another division title.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Predicting every game on the Chicago Bears’ 2026 schedule
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
