Chicago Bears 2026 NFL Schedule: The Games to Circle on the Fridge

The 2026 NFL schedule dropped Thursday night, and if you've got a Bears fan in your life, you already know the rest of the year just got organized around 17 Sundays. They've memorized the dates. They've already started arguing about the primetime spots. They've probably texted you about it.

Here's what your Bears fan will be watching this season — and what that means if you're the one shopping for them.

The games on the fridge

A handful of games per season set the tone for a Bears fan's whole year. Here are the dates that'll matter most in 2026:

  • Monday, September 28 — Eagles at Bears (Monday Night Football). Soldier Field under the lights. ESPN, 8:15 PM. Caleb Williams' primetime moment.
  • Thursday, October 22 — Patriots at Bears (Thursday Night Football). Amazon TNF at Soldier Field. Two young QBs going head to head.
  • Thursday, November 26 — Bears at Lions (Thanksgiving Day). NFC North on Thanksgiving. 1 PM ET. CBS/Paramount+.

Why this matters for the gift you're picking

Bears fans love hard and complain harder. Caleb Williams is supposed to be the answer. They are willing to be convinced.

When you're shopping for the Bears fan in your life — your dad, your husband, your father-in-law, your kid, your grandparent — you're not buying them "a sports gift." You're buying them their team. The good news: that makes the gift easy.

Bears gifts that actually land

Featured plaque: Our Caleb Williams Plaque is the wall piece — real licensed cards mounted in our Westchester shop, ready to display the moment it lands. The exact card may vary slightly from the one pictured — you'll always get a genuine licensed card of this player.

The 2025 + 2024 combo: The 2025 + 2024 Donruss Factory Sealed Team Set 2-Pack is the foundational gift — both years of Donruss, both sealed in their original wrappers, this season's rookies stacked next to last season's established core. Open both, display both, or gift one and stash the other. Either way it's the freshest, most complete way to get the Bears on a Bears fan's shelf.

The deep cut (8 years of Bears cards): For the obsessive fan, our 8-year Donruss Bears Team Set Bundle spans 8 seasons in a single gift — every era of recent Bears football, all the rookies who became veterans, all the veterans who became legends. The kind of gift a real fan opens slowly.

The full collection: Browse every Bears product we carry on our Chicago Bears page — plaques in four sizes, team sets across multiple years, and player-specific gifts for every Bears legend and current star.

Schedule release night is the loudest night of the offseason for a reason. Your fan's whole fall just took shape. Help them celebrate it.

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