The Bears are starting the season against the Packers — and finishing it against them.
Whether the Week 18 game at Lambeau Field has any playoff relevance will be determined during the games in between. The Bears expect quarterback Justin Fields to improve, while the Packers will turn to a passer not named Aaron Rodgers as their seasonlong starter for the first time since Fields was 5.
The Lions — the Bears’ suddenly sexy NFC North foes — will open the season on ‘‘Thursday Night Football’’ at the defending champion Chiefs and will host the Packers on Thanksgiving.
Here’s the Bears’ 2023 schedule, which was released Thursday night. All games are on Sundays unless noted:
Week 1: vs. Packers, Sept. 10 at 3:25 p.m. (Fox-32): Jordan Love will take his first snaps against the Bears, making only his second -career start. Let the post-Rodgers era begin.
Week 2: at Buccaneers, Sept. 17 at noon (Fox-32): The Patriots will honor legend Tom Brady in their home opener in Week 2, while the Bucs will host their first game without him.
Week 3: at Chiefs, Sept. 24 at 3:25 p.m. (Fox-32): Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn’t faced the Bears in a regular-season game since he counted on his fingers during a 2019 blowout.
Week 4: vs. Broncos, Oct. 1 at noon (Ch. 2): The Bears rotated perfectly between home and road games in 2021 — one on, one off. No such luck in 2023.
Week 5: at Commanders, Oct. 5 (Thursday) at 7:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video): A prime-time rematch that no one asked for, given the two combined to score 19 points on Thursday night last year.
Week 6: vs. Vikings, Oct. 15 at noon (Fox-32): Last year’s NFC North champs get their first crack at a divisional foe; the Bears will have 10 days of rest.
Week 7: vs. Raiders, Oct. 22 at noon (Fox-32): The Raiders have played one regular-season game at Soldier Field since 2004.
Week 8: at Chargers, Oct. 29 at 7:20 p.m. (Ch. 5): The Bears are scheduled for four games in prime time, including their first trip to play the relocated Chargers in Los Angeles.
Week 9: at Saints, Nov. 5 at noon (Ch. 2): The last time the Bears were in the Caesars Superdome, they were losing their last playoff appearance to the Saints 21-9.
Week 10: vs. Panthers, Nov. 9 (Thursday) at 7:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video): The Bryce Young Bowl (or is it the DJ Moore Cup?) will pit the No. 1 overall pick against the team that traded the rights to draft the Alabama quarterback.
Week 11: at Lions, Nov. 19 at noon (Fox-32): The NFL put a lot of faith in the Lions; they’re on national TV on Saturday night, Monday night and three Thursdays.
Week 12: at Vikings, Nov. 27 (Monday) at 7:15 p.m. (ESPN): “MNF’’ games can be flexed Weeks 12-17. Sunday night games can be changed twice from Weeks 5-10 and anytime between Weeks 11-17. All changes require 12 days’ notice.
Week 13: BYE
Week 14: vs. Lions, Dec. 10 at noon (Fox-32): Matt Nagy went 7-1 against the Lions; Matt Eberflus is 0-2.
Week 15: at Browns, TBD: The Bears could play Saturday or Sunday. The last time Fields played a regular-season game in Cleveland, he was sacked nine times.
Week 16: vs. Cardinals, Dec. 24 at 3:25 p.m. (Fox-32): Vegas odds project the Cardinals to be the worst team in football. Will they be in tank mode on Christmas Eve?
Week 17: vs. Falcons, Dec. 31 at noon (Ch. 2): The Bears will finish December only having to leave town once.
Week 18: at Packers, TBD: At the end of Week 17, the NFL will book two games for the Saturday of Week 18 and set times for Sunday games depending on playoff stakes.
