Chicago Bears 2026 Schedule: Breaking Down the Toughest Three-Game Stretch

For Ben Johnson to lead his Chicago Bears team to the playoffs for a second consecutive season, he will have to navigate a schedule that features plenty of challenges. In addition to facing the toughest strength of schedule based on opponents' 2025 records, the Bears will also play games on five days of the week throughout the course of the year. Like many people who seek consistency and rhythm in their lives, the Bears will have everything but that in 2026.

These are just the obstacles that come with having a first-place schedule after an 11-win season in 2025. How the Bears handle adversity will determine if this Chicago team can become the first one to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2005 and 2006 seasons. There are many challenging parts to the schedule, but how the Bears navigate the three-game stretch from Weeks 15-17 could drastically impact if Chicago makes a late push to win the NFC North or fights to compete for one of the final spots in the playoffs.

Chicago's three-game stretch starts with a Saturday night road matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Josh Allen led his team to 12 wins in the regular season and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round. The Denver Broncos eliminated the Bills in a 33-30 shootout at Mile High Stadium.

For the first time in nine seasons, the Bills will have a new head coach in Joe Brady, who replaces Sean McDermott. Allen will also have wide receiver DJ Moore, which will present a challenge for the Bears' defense on a shorter week of preparation. Whatever the outcome is after that Week 15 matchup, the Bears will have to quickly rebound and prepare for a Christmas showdown against the Green Bay Packers just six days later at Soldier Field.