The Bears will kick off the 2021 season in the national prime-time spotlight against a familiar foe in a new place.
NBC announced Wednesday morning that it will televise the Week 1 matchup between the Bears and Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles Sunday night, Sept. 12 at 7:20 p.m. (CT).
For the second straight year, the Bears will open the season on the road against quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was acquired by the Rams from the Lions in a blockbuster offseason trade that sent quarterback Jared Goff and three draft picks to Detroit.
In last year's opener, the Bears rallied from a 23-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns to stun the Lions 27-23 in Detroit. Stafford completed 24 of 42 passes for 297 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 77.2 passer rating.
The last time the Bears opened a season against the Rams was in 1950 when George Halas coached his team to a 24-20 win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to help defeat former Bears teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Stydahar in his first game as Rams head coach.
Later on Wednesday âŠ
âą The rest of the Bears schedule will be unveiled on ChicagoBears.com and the Chicago Bears Official App at 6:45 p.m. (CT)
âą The entire NFL schedule will be announced on the Schedule Release '21 special on NFL Network at 7 p.m. (CT)
âą Bears preseason and regular-season single-game tickets and suites will go on sale to the general public at 8:30 p.m. (CT)
With the NFL expanding the regular-season schedule to 17 games, take a look at the Bears' finalized home and away matchups for the 2021 season.
Home vs. Arizona Cardinals
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 20, 2015
Score: Bears 23 - Cardinals 48
Home vs. San Francisco 49ers
Last meeting in Chicago: Dec. 3, 2017
Score: Bears 14 - 49ers 15
Home vs. Baltimore Ravens
Last meeting in Chicago: Nov. 17, 2013
Score: Bears 23 - Ravens 20
Home vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 8, 2013
Score: Bears 24 - Bengals 21
Home vs. New York Giants
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 20, 2020
Score: Bears 17 - Giants 13
Home vs. Detroit Lions
Last meeting in Chicago: Dec. 6, 2020
Score: Bears 30 - Lions 34
Home vs. Minnesota Vikings
Last meeting in Chicago: Nov. 16, 2020
Score: Bears 13 - Vikings 19
Home vs. Green Bay Packers
Last meeting in Chicago: Jan. 3, 2021
Score: Bears 16 - Packers 35
Away vs. Los Angeles Rams
Last meeting in Los Angeles: Oct. 26, 2020
Score: Bears 10 - Rams 24
Away vs. Seattle Seahawks
Last meeting in Seattle: Sept. 27, 2015
Score: Bears 0 - Seahawks 26
Away vs. Cleveland Browns
Last meeting in Cleveland: Dec. 15, 2013
Score: Bears 38 - Browns 31
Away vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Last meeting in Pittsburgh: Sept. 22, 2013
Score: Bears 40 - Steelers 23
Away vs.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last meeting in Tampa: Sept. 17, 2017
Score: Bears 7 - Buccaneers 29
Away vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Last meeting at Raiders: Oct. 6, 2019 (London)
Score: Bears 21 - Raiders 24
Away vs. Detroit Lions
Last meeting in Detroit: Sept. 13, 2020
Score: Bears 27 - Lions 23
Away vs. Minnesota Vikings
Last meeting in Minnesota: Dec. 20, 2020
Score: Bears 33 - Vikings 27
Away vs. Green Bay Packers
Last meeting in Green Bay: Nov. 29, 2020
Score: Bears 25 - Packers 41
