Network executives are banking on Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson, handing the Chicago Bears five primetime slots and a historic holiday doubleheader to capitalize on record-breaking viewership numbers.
The Chicago Bears' 2026 NFL schedule is officially out, and the league made it clear how it views Ben Johnson's team.
The Bears will be in the spotlight with five primetime games, along with holiday matchups against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving (12:30 ET) and the Green Bay Packers on Christmas (1 ET).
The Bears' five schedule primetime matchups tie for the most the team has had since 2000, but this is the first time in team history Chicago will play games on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, according to a press release by the team.
This will also be the first time the Bears play on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas in the same season.
There is an obvious reason for the premium regular-season matchups: the Bears bring in viewers and plenty of them.
The Bears' 31-27 victory over the Packers in the wild-card round last season averaged 31.61 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, according to Nielsen. That mark broke the previous record that was set on Christmas Day earlier in the year, featuring the Minnesota Vikings against the Detroit Lions on Netflix.
Everything comes back to generating viewership and money for streaming services and television, so it's no surprise the long-standing rivalry in the NFL is being featured on Christmas Day.
The most-watched games last season on TV + digital occurred on Thanksgiving Day, according to the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs' matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in the second slot on Thanksgiving drew 57.3 million viewers, and the second-most watched game in 2025 was the Packers-Lions game in the first slot that day.
Detroit will host Chicago in the first game on Thanksgiving Day this season, and it wouldn't be shocking if there is a new record in viewership by the time that Week 12 game is over.
These premium regular-season games are great for Bears fans, who get to watch their team in the national spotlight, but they do come with their unique challenges.
Johnson in his second year as the Bears' head coach will have to navigate a schedule that is far from consistent. NFL.com's Eric Edholm labeled Johnson as one of his "losers" in his article "Winners and losers from 2026 NFL schedule release."
Here is his reasoning:
"Because coaches love routine and typically hate a slew of different starting times, but the Bears will be fed a diet of them. They're playing two Thursday games, one each on Friday and Saturday and two more on Mondays."
Edholm also pointed out the Bears will "have six short weeks with fewer than a full seven days' preparation this season."
Given the Bears' success last season, winning 11 regular-season games in route to an NFC North title, this could be Chicago's new norm when it comes to the schedule. Last season, the Bears had four short weeks with fewer than seven days of preparation and finished 3-1 in those games.
For the Bears to reach their goal of winning a Super Bowl one day, Johnson's team will have to prove they can handle the pressure with the world watching this upcoming season.