The National Football League unveiled the complete 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday.
This season, the Chicago Bears are scheduled to appear in five primetime games and two standalone games, headlining seven premium regular-season matchups in 2026. Chicago's five scheduled primetime matchups tie for the most for the Bears since at least 2000. For the first time in franchise history, the Bears are scheduled to play games on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in 2026.
Returning to the Thanksgiving Day slate in 2026, Chicago is also set to appear on Christmas Day, headlining each of the two major holiday lineups in 2026, marking the first time in franchise history that the Bears play games on both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the same regular season.
Chicago's schedule features a stretch of three-straight primetime games in Weeks 7, 8 and 9, before a three-game stretch of premier matchups, including two standalone games, in Weeks 15, 16 and 17. The stretch of three-straight primetime games marks the first time that the Bears' regular-season schedule has featured three-straight primetime match-ups since at least the turn of the century.
The Bears will open the 2026 regular season on the road, traveling to Carolina to take on the Panthers in Week 1. Chicago's Week 1 matchup against Carolina will be the first-ever season-opening matchup between the two clubs and marks the first Week 1 road contest for the Bears since 2021.
After the season opener, the Bears will return to Chicago for a three-game homestand, starting with a bout against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. The Week 2 matchup between the Bears and Vikings will mark the 130th all-time regular-season meeting between the two NFC North Division rivals, as the Bears own a 33-29-2 all-time advantage over the Vikings at home.
Chicago will then host the Philadelphia Eagles on ABC and ESPN's Monday Night Football in Week 3, the first of five scheduled primetime matchups in 2026 and the first of two in the Monday Night Football showcase. Chicago will take on Philadelphia for the second-straight season, after defeating the Eagles on Black Friday in 2025 in Philadelphia, as the Bears own a 16-8 all-time advantage over the Eagles in Chicago. The Bears will then host the New York Jets in Week 4, rounding out the three-game homestand in the first quarter of the regular season. Chicago has won five out of their last six matchups against the Jets, including three in-a-row at home.
The Bears will travel to Green Bay in Week 5, headlining a 3:25 p.m. CT showcase on FOX, before traveling to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. The Bears have won four out of their last six matchups against the Falcons, including two of their last three in Atlanta.
Chicago then hosts the New England Patriots on Prime Video's Thursday Night Football in Week 7, kicking off a three-game stretch of primetime matchups. After hosting the Patriots for the second time in three years, the Bears will then travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 8, Chicago's second Monday night outing in 2026, before returning to Chicago in Week 9 for a bout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on NBC's Sunday Night Football. The Bears will travel to Seattle for the first regular season matchup since 2021, a Chicago victory, as the Bears have won two out of their last three road matchups against the Seahawks. The Bears will then host Tampa Bay for the first time since 2020, having won three-straight matchups over the Buccaneers at Soldier Field.
Chicago's bye week occurs in Week 10 in 2026, the club's first Week 10 bye since 2021, and just the second Week 10 bye for the Bears since the bye-week format was instituted in 1990.
After their Week 10 bye, the Bears are set to host the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field for the second-straight season. Chicago's victory over the Saints in 2025 marked the club's first win against New Orleans since 2008.
The Bears are then set to play on Thanksgiving Day for the second time in the last three seasons, taking on the Detroit Lions in Week 12 at Noon CT on CBS. Chicago will travel to Detroit for their fourth-straight Thanksgiving Day bout against the Lions, as the Bears have won four of their last five Thanksgiving Day appearances, including three victories over the Lions. The Bears own 20 wins all-time on Thanksgiving Day, the third-most by any NFL club and the most by any team in the League that does not play on Thanksgiving Day every year (Lions and Cowboys).
Chicago returns home in Week 13, hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in Chicago for the first time since 2016. The Bears have won four out of their last five matchups against Jacksonville, including each of the last two meetings. The Bears defeated the Jaguars in the last matchup of the two clubs, a 2024 outing in London. Chicago will then travel to Miami in Week 14, taking on the Dolphins on the road for the first time since 2018. The Bears have won three out of their last five road matchups against the Dolphins, as two out of the last four regular-season road meetings between the two teams have gone to OT.
Chicago will travel to Buffalo in Week 15 for a primetime Saturday night matchup against the Buffalo Bills on CBS. The Week 15 bout will mark the first trip to Buffalo for a regular-season game for Chicago since 2018, as the Bears have won each of their last two regular-season matchups over the Bills in Buffalo. After Week 15, Chicago closes out the regular season with three-straight NFC North Division matchups.
The Bears will then host the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day in Week 16. Chicago is set to play on Christmas Day for just the third time in franchise history, marking the first occurrence since 2011. Chicago defeated Green Bay in each of the two matchups between the two clubs at Soldier Field last season (postseason included). Kickoff between the Bears and Packers is set for Noon CT on Netflix on Christmas Day.
The Bears will then close out the regular season home slate in Week 17, hosting the Detroit Lions for a 3:25 p.m. CT showcase on FOX, before traveling to Minnesota to take on the Vikings in Week 18. In all-time home matchups against the Lions, Chicago has a 61-32-4 record, as the Bears return to Minnesota in Week 18 after defeating the Vikings in walk-off fashion in 2025.
Chicago's 2026 preseason opponents have also been finalized. Before the start of the regular season, the Bears will host the Cleveland Browns in Preseason Week 1, before traveling to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in Preseason Week 2. Chicago will then culminate the preseason slate with a road matchup against the Tennessee Titans in Preseason Week 3.
