The Chicago Bears released their full, 17-game schedule for the 2023 season on Thursday night.
Matt Eberflus’ team will play six games against the NFC North, four games against the NFC South, four games against the AFC West and one game each against the same-place finisher from the NFC East and NFC West, along with a 17th game against an AFC North opponent.
We’ve compiled everything fans should know about the Bears’ 2023 schedule, from the bye week, prime-time games, the season opener, tough stretches and more.
Here’s what to know about the schedule:
Who is the Week 1 opponent?
The Bears will open the season at home when they host the Green Bay Packers. Chicago hasn’t defeated Green Bay since Dec. 2018, but they have a good chance to remedy that in the season opener. Aaron Rodgers is with the Jets, and the Jordan Love era officially begins in Green Bay.
When is the bye week?
The Bears will have their bye week in Week 13, which is later than you’d like for a 17-game regular season. But it does come after a Monday Night Football game against the Vikings in Week 12.
When are the prime-time games?
Despite finishing with the worst record in the NFL, Chicago is pegged for four prime-time games in 2023. The Bears will play on Thursday, Sunday and Monday Night Football — in fact, they have two Thursday Night Football games this season.
Their first prime-time game comes in Week 5 against the Commanders, who Chicago will host on Thursday Night Football. Three weeks later, the Bears will travel to SoFi Stadium to face the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
Chicago heads back to Thursday Night Football when they host the Panthers and No. 1 pick Bryce Young at Soldier Field, where the Bears have a chance to improve their 2024 first-round pick from Carolina. Two weeks later, Chicago will travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 12.
Three of those four prime-time contests are on the road, with the Panthers game being the lone game at Soldier Field. All four of those prime-time games come before the team’s bye week in Week 13.
Any long road trips?
The Bears will play back-to-back road games three times this season. But two of those happen within five weeks of each other. They’ll face the Los Angeles Chargers (prime time) and New Orleans Saints on the road in Weeks 8 and 9. After returning home to host the Panthers on Thursday Night Football, Chicago is back on the road for games against the Lions and Vikings (prime time) in Weeks 11 and 12.
Fun fact: The Bears will play three home games in the last five weeks of the season with their only road games coming at a short distance in Cleveland and Green Bay.
Any particularly tough stretches?
The Bears will face a bit of a tough stretch from Weeks 8-12, where they have four road games in five weeks. They’ll also play three prime-time games during that span, including two on the road against the Chargers (Week 8) and Vikings (Week 12) and one at home against the Panthers (Week 10).
Who is the Week 18 opponent?
After opening the season against the Packers at Soldier Field, the Bears will close things out at Lambeau Field in Week 18 — and the game could very well have playoff implications depending on how things shake out.
What else is there to know?
- Chicago will have a Week 1 home game with a late-afternoon kickoff for the first time since 1995.
- The Bears will play two Thursday Night Football games in 2023 — and the bye week doesn’t come after either of them.
- Chicago has two 3:25 p.m. kickoffs within the first three games (Packers and Chiefs).
- The Bears will have extra time to prepare for NFC North rivals three times. Whether that’s coming off a prime-time game or bye week.
