Year 1 of the Ben Johnson era ended in a division title for the Chicago Bears. But a last place schedule and some close wins, not to mention a strong NFC North, has some people expecting noticeable regression this year.
There is no denying how tough the Bears' 2026 schedule looks; literally the toughest in the league based on opponent win percentage from last season. While opponents' previous-season results are an antiquated way to gauge a schedule's harshness, the Bears face a challenge this season.
Quarterback Caleb Williams was a guest on this week's edition of the "New Heights" podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. It was a well-timed appearance after the Bears' signal caller was announced as the cover athlete for Madden '27, and the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end eventually brought up the season schedule.
"We've got a bunch of prime time games. It's so-called the hardest schedule," Williams said. "We had the second-hardest last year."
"We're excited. We don't back down from no challenge. We want everybody to know that going to the playoffs, and things like that, is in our future... it's going to be a consistent thing for us. But obviously we gotta do the right things, to put ourselves in those positions..."
"It starts now, and finishes in February."
Caleb Williams is right to not fear the Bears' 2026 schedule
As Williams said, the Bears didn't exactly have what looked to be a cakewalk 2025 schedule when we were looking at it a year ago.
Outside of facing five last-place teams from 2024 (the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers), as a product of being a last-place team t themselves, they had a total of nine games against teams that won at least 11 games that previous season. Six of those were division games, along with games against both reigning NFC title game participants.
But circumstances and rosters change every year, which is why NFL stands for "Not For Long." While the 49ers rose back up to being a playoff team last year, the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions all won at least five fewer games than they did in 2024.
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Not that Williams would ever say anything other than how he and his teammates aren't going to back down from any challenge. But what looks like the toughest schedule in the league right now very well might not look that way by the time the gales of November arrive, so the sentiment in this case is spot-on.
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