The Chicago Bears have one of the toughest schedules to navigate this season. What is the toughest stretch of games in the 2026 NFL season?
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.
Both matchups in the regular season came down to the final moments of the game. Green Bay won the first game at Lambeau Field, 28-21, with a game-sealing interception in the end zone. The Bears defeated the Packers in overtime at Soldier Field in Week 16 with Caleb Williams’ 46-yard touchdown pass to Moore.
Then of course there was Chicago's 31-27 comeback victory in the wild-card round. Despite being down 21-9 entering the fourth quarter, the Bears rallied back, scoring 25 points to eliminate their arch rival.
That Christmas game will be the second one against the Packers in 2026, so the result could swing the NFC North standings.
To end the daunting three-game stretch, the Bears will have nine days to prepare for the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Detroit swept Chicago last season, and the Bears haven't defeated the Lions since 2023. Dan Campbell's team has won seven of the last eight games against the Bears.
The Bears have a challenging schedule and how the Bears handle Weeks 15-17 will impact where the 2026 season goes for Johnson's team in his second year as the team's head coach.