The NFL will release the full 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday, May 14, in prime time. However, the Chicago Bears’ schedule is shaking up to feature plenty of pomp and fanfare.
The Bears are coming off an 11-win season, and their first campaign under head coach Ben Johnson. With him and third-year quarterback Caleb Williams in tow, the Bears are a team the NFL has decided belongs in heavy rotation on the national stage, and their schedule reflects that.
The full slate will tell the whole story, but plenty of eyes will be on the Bears this coming season.
Bears Get More Confirmations and Leaks About 2026 Regular Season Schedule
Schedule Leaks Reveal Multiple Games on Bears’ 2026 Slate
Here are the Bears games that have leaked so far (via Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, CBS Sports’ John Breech, and OzzyNFL on X), with less than 24 hours until the full release (all times CST):
- Week 1: @ Panthers (12 p.m.)
- Week 3: vs Eagles (Monday Night Football/7:15 p.m. on ESPN)
- Week 7: vs Patriots (Thursday Night Football/7:15 p.m. on Amazon)
- Week 9: vs Buccaneers (Sunday Night Football/7:15 p.m. on NBC)
- Week 11: vs Saints (12 p.m.)
- Week 12: @ Lions (12 p.m. on CBS & Paramount+)
- Week 16: vs Packers (Netflix)
- Week 17: vs Lions (3:15 p.m.)
- Week 18: @ Vikings
Bears Remaining Opponents
Here is a list of the opponents the Bears will face, but have yet to have their matchups against revealed:
Home:
- Vikings
- Jaguars
- Jets
Away:
- Packers
- Bills
- Dolphins
- Falcons
- Seahawks
The Bears will face one of the toughest regular-season schedules in the NFL in 2026, but they are also on track to travel fewer air miles than all but two other teams. They could pick up another primetime game.
That is particularly true if they draw the Packers in a late-season showdown with high stakes.
Their bye week also remains unknown, while they were officially eliminated from participating in an international contest this season.
The Bears’ best path to building off their resurgence from last season would be to improve in the division. They went 2-4 during the regular season, splitting matchups with the Packers and Vikings, and losing both tilts against the Lions.
The Bears were notably 3-1 against the AFC during the 2025 regular season.
