Chicago Bears screwed over by NFL helping Packers

The Chicago Bears have the toughest schedule in the NFL for the upcoming season, and the league schedule makers didn’t do the defending NFC North champs any favors this week.

The Bears 17-game schedule will be against a combined opponent winning percentage of .550, per ESPN.

On Thursday, the NFL released its schedule for the 2026 season. One game to keep an eye on is the Bears’ Week 5 contest at the Green Bay Packers.

Week 5 was a curious time for the league’s schedule makers to put the two rivals against each other. The Packers have two key starters battling injury this offseason, and defensive end Micah Parsons and tight end Tucker Kraft are expected to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.

Week 5 will be the first week Parsons and Kraft would be available to play, and of course it will be against the Bears.

And those that follow the Packers are taking notice.

Zach Jacobson of Packer Report noted that the matchup in Week 5 looks “favorable” from the Green Bay perspective.

“Nothing is obviously confirmed yet, but if the Packers host the Bears in Week 5 on Oct. 11 like the leaks say, that’s pretty favorable,” he posted on X. “That’ll be the first week that Micah Parsons—and potentially Tucker Kraft, we’ll see—is eligible to come off the PUP list.”

In addition to giving the Packers an opportunity to get Parsons back before playing the Bears, the league gave Green Bay a favorable schedule in the first four weeks. The Packers will play the Vikings, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before playing Chicago.

Chicago Bears have unfavorable schedule