Welcome to the latest episode of Bears Over Beers! This week, join our hosts Ryan Droste and Bryan Orenchuk as they present their instant reaction podcast to the official release of the 2026 NFL schedule.

We look at the Bears’ 2026 NFL schedule in full, including our way-too-early game by game season predictions, our favorite games on the schedule, thoughts on a Christmas Day game, which road game we’d most like to attend, and much more!

Come hang out with us on our 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel and get in on the fun. The show goes live at 7:30...

With the NFL schedule officially released tonight, it got me thinking about which games I would like to attend. That thought quicky trailed to games I have attended and finally to the question of the day: Which one was most unforgettable?

For me, it would have to be Jay Cutler’s first game at Soldier Field as starting QB for the Bears. I was living in Denver at the time and like most of you, remember where I was and what I was doing when news broke of Jay Cutler being traded from the Denver Broncos to the Chicago Bears.

I...

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Bears not part of NFL’s international slate

Good. Any year we get a miss is a good one, except if we go to the UK or Ireland. That’s cool then, lots of Bears fans there.

Chicago Bears Q&A: How do you explain their approach with the defensive line after the NFL draft?

Biggs spills the beans. Tribune paywall.

Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp: How Zavion Thomas Can Refine His Game

Is this young man really lightning in a bottle?

Bears DC Dennis Allen Details What Went Wrong on Defense in 2025

What he says makes sense,...

We’re still waiting on the full NFL schedule to drop, but with all the International series games announced, we now know the travel miles for each franchise, and the Chicago Bears will travel the third fewest this season.

Chicago’s longest trip, and its only road game west of the Central time zone, is against the Seattle Seahawks. The Bears’ other road trips will be to their divisional opponents, the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers, with trips southeast to play the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons, and one northeast to play the Buffalo Bills.

Traveling in...

There wasn’t anything Walter Payton couldn’t do while on a football field. He was the best running back ever, having retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, a feat he mostly accomplished without a single other offensive Pro Bowl player on the field with him for his first ten years in the league.

All 11 defenders were laser-focused on Sweetness, and they still couldn’t stop him.

Considering the punishment he took from defenses, the punishment he doled out himself, and the old-school Astroturf he played on, there wasn’t a tougher player ever to play. He only missed one game in...

Ever since coming over via trade in the middle of the 2023 season, Bears Edge Montez Sweat has led the team in sacks each year. Will that change in 2026? If so, who are the likeliest candidates?

Though Sweat had more sacks (6) in 9 games in 2023 than he did (5.5) in 16 games in 2024, he still was the team leader in sacks. It was no different last year as Sweat once again led the team with 10 sacks. Considering he has only accrued double digit sacks two times throughout his 7 year career, it’s fair to wonder...

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Bears Rookie Minicamp: How Sam Roush, Tight Ends Impact Chicago’s Offense

Positively, we hope.

Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp: Dennis Allen Discusses Dayo Odeyingbo’s Fit

“Yeah, he fits well on the bench?” No, DA didn’t say that. Everybody else is though.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Report: Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy released from hospital, hopes to play this season

Hardy was shot and hospitalized. Best wishes for a full recovery for the young man.

Options for season-opening game at Seattle are down to four

It’s going to be Chicago. We all know it ahead of time. Unless it’s the...

In 2025, a big reason for the Bears’ improvement on offense came from a better offensive line. Heading into the new year, it seems as though their unit comes in high regard.

ESPN’s Mike Clay put together a rating for every starting offensive lineman in the NFL, as well as an overall ranking of each team’s offensive line as a unit. The Bears had the third-best offensive line in the league, trailing only the Broncos and the Eagles.

With the 5.0 mark being used to indicate an average starting offensive lineman, Clay gave every one of Chicago’s starters an above-average...

Don’t let any other fan base tell you the Chicago Bears didn’t earn their strong 2025 season. They were talented, clutch, and had a nose for the football.

However, it is possible (likely?) that the Bears show regression in one or more areas that they were exceptional at in 2025. The other side of the coin (which we will get to another day) is that the Bears may also improve in a number of categories compared to last season. There is no such thing as linear projection! Only chaos!

*What category will the Bears regress in during the 2026...

Last week, we brought you the data that the Chicago Bears had the sixth hardest strength of schedule (SOS) in the National Football League when applying the 2026 betting lines for the over/under team wins. It’s a newer way to look at SOS, but it’s not the most common that fans think of. The traditional method is to calculate the 2025 winning percentages of all the teams on the 2026 schedule and rank them accordingly.

Using that method, the Chicago Bears have the NFL’s toughest SOS by facing opponents who played .550 ball a seaosn ago.

The Bears’ first-place schedule...

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Bears sign four players, announce WR Squirrel White’s retirement

Yay on the new players but sad news that all of our Squirrel jokes will go un-snarked.

2026 NFL rookies: Day 2-3 draft picks with instant impact includes Bear

Field Yates shows some love to a “controversial” Bears pick with some fans and pundits.

Bears sign LB Jon Rhattigan, two others

Welcome to the club (temporarily)

WRs Scotty Miller and Kyron Hudson — another ex-teammate of Caleb Williams — among 4 Chicago Bears signees

Tribune paywall.

[**4 things we learned from Chicago Bears rookie camp, including...

Now that the bulk of the acquisition period from the offseason is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take stock of what each team has done. While the 2026 NFL regular season is still three and a half months away, most of the heavy lifting in the roster-building department is out of the way, which means teams will turn their focus to the rest of their offseason program and to getting ready for training camp. Predicting success based on “unofficial” depth charts is a futile process, but it’s at least worth taking a more zoomed-out approach to wrap up...