Now that the 2025 NFL season is officially over after the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, the rest of the NFL is already thinking about next season. That includes the Chicago Bears, who are confident they can contend for a title in 2026, after the team’s quality year this past season. Time will tell if that’s the case, but Chicago may have an opportunity to send a clear message to the NFL early next season.
Since Seattle won the Super Bowl, it secured the right to kick off the 2026 NFL season with a home Thursday night game. The Bears are one of the nine teams the Seahawks will host next season, and after a little digging, Chicago could very well be the opponent kicking off the 2026 season for Seattle.
My early guess for Week 1 opening night*: Seahawks-Bears
— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) February 9, 2026
An NFC title game that almost was
Top guess would’ve been Rams, but they play the 49ers in Australia that week
I’d bet the NFL won’t put the Chiefs there without knowing if Mahomes is back
SB rematch is on the table too pic.twitter.com/s1vYPZJ9rs
Bears could face off against Seahawks in 2026 season kick off
Sports Illustrated writer Mitch Goldich recently went through Seattle’s home opponents and predicted that Chicago could be the team participating in opening night. As Goldich pointed out, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are expected to play in Australia that week, taking them off the table, and the unknown status of Patrick Mahomes’ health will remove the Kansas City Chiefs as an option.
While the Dallas Cowboys and their brand will certainly be an option, as will a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots, Goldich leaned on the excitement a Bears-Seahawks game would bring. The two teams nearly met in this season’s NFC Championship. The Bears had a ton of dramatic moments this season that were great for primetime, and both franchises have talented teams that should be contending again in 2026.
If that is indeed the opening-night matchup, the entire NFL world will be watching, celebrating the return of football, and it would give Chicago the opportunity to make a statement. The Seahawks will be the defending champs and will still be viewed as an elite team. If the Bears can go into Seattle and pick up a quality win in Week 1, it will be immediately clear that Chicago is a team the league will need to take notice of.
Read more: Bears fans can only pray this way too early 2026 season prediction comes true
Of course, the Bears will have to defend that statement throughout the season, but there won’t be a better way to announce themselves in 2026 than spoiling Seattle’s banner night.