The Bears came out of roster cuts with a 2026 schedule that already has a few games circled. After Ben Johnson’s arrival helped turn a wreck of a 2024 into an 11-win season, an NFC North title and a trip to the second round of the playoffs, Chicago is being viewed as a team to watch again next year. But if the Bears are going to keep climbing, they need to handle the games they’re supposed to handle.
There are four matchups that stand out as the most straightforward wins on the slate.
Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings is one of them. Even though Kyler Murray should be a clear upgrade over what Minnesota had in 2025, that still looks like a game that could arrive before the Vikings offense is fully settled.
Playing at home gives Chicago another edge, and Murray’s career record away from home only adds to the case. Minnesota did win nine games last season, but this matchup feels like one that could still tilt the Bears’ way early in the year.
Week 4 brings the New York Jets to Chicago, and this one looks even cleaner. The Jets are described as a bottom-5 team, and they’re still sorting through a messy situation at quarterback with Geno Smith, who is on his third team in as many years and has thrown 32 interceptions since the start of 2024.
New York does have a trio of first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, and the offense got some young talent this offseason, but the bigger push may not come until next year. For now, the Bears are the better team with the better head coach and quarterback, which makes this look like a win.
Week 6 at Atlanta has the same kind of appeal, mostly because the Falcons’ quarterback picture is so unclear. The source points to two below-average options in Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr, and both have had trouble staying healthy.
Atlanta does have dangerous pieces on offense in Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts, but that only matters if the ball gets to them. The Falcons will also be without pass-rusher Jalon Walker for all of 2026 and James Pearce Jr. because of suspension, which weakens the front.
That QB edge should matter, and it points toward Chicago.
Then there’s Week 14 at Miami, which might be the easiest pick of the bunch. The Dolphins are entering a full rebuild in year one, and the source calls them perhaps the worst team in the NFL.
Miami does not have a long-term answer at quarterback, the roster has been stripped down, and a new regime is in place. The Dolphins could steal a game here and there, but they are clearly starting over.
By the time the Bears get there in Week 14, they could be in the middle of an NFC North race, which makes this one feel even more like a game Chicago has to win.
In Other News...
Bears Just Got An Early NFC North Break Against Green Bay
Josh Jacobs status has suddenly become one of the early swing points in the NFC North, with the Packers running back placed on the commissioners exempt list because of a legal situation. For Green Bay, it creates an immediate hole in the backfield depth chart and removes a player who has been a major part of the offense over the past two seasons. For the Bears, it is the kind of development that can matter in a division that often turns on small edges.
Chicago already looks better positioned at running back than Green Bay does without Jacobs, and that could shape the way both teams approach the first stretch of the season. The Packers still have time to sort out the situation, but the uncertainty alone gives the Bears an early opening in a race that figures to be tight from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Suddenly Have A Week 1 Worry They Couldn't Afford
The Bears closed out their preseason work with a pair of injury concerns that came at an awkward time, with Rome Odunze and DAndre Swift both leaving the final practice before Week 1 was set to begin. Swift appeared to be dealing with his midsection after a play, while Odunze was already working through a foot issue that had kept him off the field earlier in camp.
With the opener against the Carolina Panthers approaching, Chicago now has to wait for more information on two players it was counting on as part of its early-season plans. Any missed time this close to the regular-season start would complicate an offense that is still trying to settle into a rhythm and avoid losing ground before the season has even begun. [Read more 🡒]
Kyler Gordon Video Reignites A Bears Concern That Still Wont Go Away
Kyler Gordons latest social media appearance has only added to a situation the Bears would probably like to have settled by now. The cornerback looked healthy while training in a recent video, which naturally got attention from Chicago fans still waiting for clarity on his status, but the bigger picture has not changed much. Ryan Poles has already said he is uncertain whether Gordon will play for the team again, and that uncertainty continues to hang over a roster that has been trying to sort out its defensive future.
A trainers note from the conversation around the video is an important reminder that a player can look good working out and still not be close to a return. Fitness in a clip does not answer the harder questions about how a body responds afterward, especially when pain or swelling can show up once the work is done. For the Bears, that leaves Gordon as more than just a positive sighting online. It leaves them waiting for the kind of update that actually tells them where this is headed. [Read more 🡒]