Bears' schedule brings predictions of doom, but that misses the mark

The Chicago Bears have a tough schedule for the 2026 NFL season.

When the league unveiled its slate on Thursday night, that was one of the major takeaways, and it has brought with it predictions of doom.

For example, ESPN's Ben Solak makes the case that the Bears will miss the postseason entirely.

"The Bears have the hardest schedule in the NFL, based on the 2025 win/loss records of the teams they'll play in 2026," Solak writes. "And while that is certainly not the only indicator of schedule strength, history says it's definitely not nothing. The last team to win a playoff game after entering the season with the hardest schedule by that metric was the 2016 Falcons. Over the past 10 seasons, seven of those teams missed the playoffs entirely."

So yeah, it won't be easy.

But the Bears might be up to the task.

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Reasons to believe in the Bears

This starts with Caleb Williams, and it includes Ben Johnson.

Everyone said it would take Williams a while to get up to speed in Johnson's offense, and last season was the first season of their partnership. They already looked great.

A full offseason and heading into year two as a duo? That should work out great.

The Bears have lots of young, rising talents, too. This is a team with its arrow pointing upward which has already proven to itself that it can believe in the abilities in that building.

They'll have to be sharp to win their tough games, but they're quite capable.

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Chicago Bears' 2026 schedule

This is the full schedule:

• Week 1: at Panthers
• Week 2: vs. Vikings
• Week 3: vs. Eagles
• Week 4: vs. Jets
• Week 5: at Packers
• Week 6: at Falcons
• Week 7: vs. Patriots
• Week 8: at Seahawks
• Week 9: vs. Buccaneers
• Week 10: BYE
• Week 11: vs. Saints
• Week 12: at Lions
• Week 13: vs. Jaguars
• Week 14: at Dolphins
• Week 15: at Bills
• Week 16: vs. Packers
• Week 17: vs. Lions
• Week 18: vs. Vikings

Of note: The Week 12 Lions game is on Thanksgiving, and the Week 16 Packers game is on Christmas Day.

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