Bears receive brutal news after full 2026 NFL schedule is released

Quarterback Caleb Williams and other members of the Chicago Bears haven't hidden this offseason that they are eyeing a trip to the Super Bowl coming off the club's postseason appearance that included a wild-card playoff win over the rival Green Bay Packers.

After the full 2026 NFL schedule was officially released on Thursday evening, ESPN's Dan Graziano shared some bad news for Bears fans who are excited about what the club could accomplish later this year. 

Is history already against the 2026 Bears? 

"The Bears have the hardest schedule in the NFL, based on the 2025 win/loss records of the teams they'll play in 2026," Graziano explained. "...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."

As Courtney Cronin of ESPN noted, schedule-makers placed the Bears in seven standalone windows and also in three prime-time games from Week 7 through Week 9. Chicago opens the season with a matchup at the Carolina Panthers, a home game versus the rival Minnesota Vikings and a home contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. Carolina and Philadelphia played in last season's postseason tournament, while the Vikings ended last season with a record of 9-8. 

The NFC North should again be filled with good teams

"The Bears won an NFC North division in which literally every other team had a winning record last season," Graziano added. "The Lions and Vikings should bounce back to contender status, and the Packers were a playoff team last season, along with the Bears. Chicago plays all three of those teams -- plus the Bills -- over the final month of the season."

Last season, Williams recorded seven comeback victories after trailing in the fourth quarter of games from Week 1 through the playoff win over Green Bay. While that's a remarkable accomplishment for any quarterback, let alone a second-year starter, it also shows how differently things could have gone for the 2025 Bears. 

In short, Williams and Co. will likely need to be better over the first three quarters of games this coming fall for Chicago to make a second straight trip to the playoffs.