The Chicago Bears winning 11 games in the 2025 NFL Season was not something that many people saw coming, but it did prove a couple of things: that the team appears to have a stellar head coach in Ben Johnson, and that quarterback Caleb Williams is the real deal.
However, there is no use reflecting much more on 2025, as it's over, and the Bears didn't win the Super Bowl, so in the eyes of many, the season was a failure. With that said, the Bears are well-positioned to build on the 2025 success in 2026.
And the Bears did get some solid advantages on their 2026 schedule, and we talked about the three biggest advantages here.
Chicago Bears have some obvious schedule advantage that could lead to 2026 success
Weeks 1-6 could lead to a blazing hot start
The Bears could get out to quite a start across the first six games of the 2026 NFL Season:
Week 1 @ Carolina Panthers
Week 2 vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 3 vs. Philadelphia Eagles (MNF)
Week 4 vs. New York Jets
Week 5 @ Green Bay Packers
Week 6 @ Atlanta Falcons
Every single game here is winnable. The two toughest opponents would be the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, but the Bears went a combined 3-1 against these teams during the 2025 NFL Season, having beaten the Packers twice, losing to them once, and taking care of business against Philadelphia.
The other opponents in Carolina, Minnesota, New York, and Atlanta are all 'ho-hum' teams that don't necessarily scare you or do anything particularly well. It's not a stretch to think that Chicago loses just one game here, or even go 6-0.
Getting out to, at least, a 5-1 start in 2026 would give the team a major advantage quite early in the season, especially if Chicago can get two NFC North wins over Minnesota and Green Bay.
Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks
In Week 8, which is on November 2nd, the Bears will be in Seattle to play the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks on Monday Night Football. On paper, this game could be a blowout Seahawks win, right?
No so fast.
This actually could be a key game for the Bears to take advantage of what could be a banged-up Seahawks team, and a win here would give the team a head-to-head advantage for playoff seeding, if that scenario pops up.
Seattle's schedule approaching Week 8 looks like this:
Week 4 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 5 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 6 @ Denver Broncos (TNF)
Week 7 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (SNF)
Seattle ends up playing three primetime games in a row, but more notably, they'll have four games in a row against four hard-nosed, formidable teams. All four teams approaching the showdown with the Bears sport borderline-elite, or flat-out elite defenses.
There has to be a strong possibility that the Seahawks are just worn out against the Bears. Chicago's Weeks 4-7 opponents in New York (A), Green Bay, Atlanta, and New England are much less of a brutal stretch than Seattle's.
Week 8 could come at the perfect time for the Bears to earn a key victory over a team that may be tired.
Week 10 bye
Having a bye right in the middle of the season is ideal. The Bears will play nine games, have a Week 10 bye, and then play eight games to finish up the regular season. The alternative can sometimes be having a very early or late bye, which would force some teams to potentially play 10+ games in a row without much of a break.
Read more: Bears' new stadium drama adds a whole new level of frustration for Chicago
Splitting up the season as down the middle as you can get for 17 games gives Chicago a fair amount of rest throughout the season. Given how tough the NFC North is likely going to be, the Bears won't have much of a margin for error in 2026. Getting this bye sets up Johnson's squad nicely for the final two months.
Add us as a preferred source on Google