NEWSLETTER
In a series of tweets, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs shared the upcoming Chicago Bears schedule for the 2024 season.
Nothing is officially official just yet. And it won’t be until the league drops its official announcement at 7 p.m. CT. But that won’t stop us from sharing some early thoughts.
When is the Chicago Bears home opener?
The NFL schedule makers are wasting no time ushering in the Caleb Williams era.
Mark your calendars. Another year of football at Chicago’s Soldier Field is set to kick off in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. With the Thursday opener and Monday Night Football slots already filled, this looks like a Sunday (Sept. 8) game for the Bears. I thought Caleb Williams’ debut would get the primetime treatment. But I wouldn’t be mad about a traditional Sunday noon start for the rookie.
I think Matt made some good points about the pressure that will be on QB1’s shoulders as he makes his pro debut. But on the surface, this seems like a soft landing for the Bears rookie.
Do the Bears have any primetime games?
No matter how bad the Bears look, they always seem to get a chunk of primetime island games. But with this team going through what might be a transformational offseason, things appear to be on the upswing. In other words, you could expect even more primetime action.
Schedules are fluid and flex scheduling will begin in Week 5. But this is what the Bears’ list of primetime games looks like as of right now:
Chicago’s football team hasn’t played a Sunday Night Football home game since 2019 when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came to town. Considering how that game went for the Bears, I can understand why NBC might not want to go down the path again.
As for the four primetime games slotted above, they’re all interesting for one reason or another.
For instance, that Week 2 game against the Texans will pit the quarterback they drafted (Caleb Williams) against the one they passed on drafting (C.J. Stroud). And after Stroud had some choice words about the Bears‘ offseason plans to dump Justin Fields, I’d bet this game is circled on his calendar.
Also, shout out to the NFL schedule-makers for not forcing the Bears into a Christmas Day Netflix game. I’ll gladly take the alternative of a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Seahawks instead. Let us have Christmas with family, friends, and those who we care for most.
Fun fact: The Bears are scheduled to play 13 games against first-round quarterbacks
Caleb Williams will have a bullseye on his back as the No. 1 pick of the most recent NFL Draft. But it’s not as if he is the only QB1 with a first-round pedigree. With that in mind, here are the first-round quarterbacks set to face Chicago’s football team in 2024:
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (2nd overall, 2023)
- Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (4th overall, 2023)
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (1st overall, 2009)
- Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (1st overall, 2023)
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (1st overall, 2021)
- Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (2nd overall, 2024)
- Drake Maye, New England Patriots (3rd overall, 2024)
- Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (26th overall, 2020)
- Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (3rd overall, 2018)
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (1st overall, 2016)
It all adds up to 13 games against 10 quarterbacks who were first-rounders in their draft classes. I guess that number could be 14 games against 11 quarterbacks if we include J.J. McCarthy, a first-round pick from last April’s NFL Draft. But I suppose we can cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, I find it notable that Jordan Love is the only first-round QB opponent who was chosen outside of the top-5 in their draft class. I need some time to chew on that to figure out what it means.
Details on the Bears trip to London
My favorite Brad Biggs nugget is that a post-bye coast-to-coast road trip awaits after a return from London. Biggs reports the Bears will have back-to-back road games after the bye week, which will fall on Week 7 after the team comes back from its London voyage. Matt Eberflus, Shane Waldron, and the rest of that coaching staff better have a strong plan of attack against the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers because the mental wear-and-tear of travel and getting bodies situated in time zones is going to be quite the task.
2024 Bears Schedule Leak
This is what the unofficial schedule looks like:
More to come at 7 p.m. CT.
