The Chicago Bears unveiled their 2025 schedule, which features a challenging slate for first-year head coach Ben Johnson and company.
With expectations much higher due to a busy and headline-making offseason, the NFL is giving the Bears the spotlight to prove themselves. Chicago will come into the year with a new look roster, on both offense and defense, and a new leader in Johnson, which has built them into one of the most-talked about teams coming into the 2025 season.
We're taking a look at some the biggest games of the year for Chicago this season. Let's rank the Bears' best prime-time and national games of 2025:
One of a few revenge games on tap for the Bears this season, not only will Chicago face an opponent from the 2024 season, but they'll be back in enemy territory with a whole new look top to bottom with their team. The Bears faced San Francisco last year in Week 14, falling 38-13 in the midst of their 10-game losing streak, with the lone bright spot coming as Rome Odunze scored two touchdowns in the loss.
The Packers and Bears are always going to be must-see television, but the rivalry has been ignited even more since Week 18 of last season, when Chicago defeated Green Bay at Lambeau Field. New head coach Ben Johnson added fuel to the fire in this rivalry, claiming he likes to beat Packers head coach Matt LaFleur twice a year, which would go a long way in the Bears franchise.
One of their biggest games of the year, all by themselves in a national spotlight on a holiday weekend, the Bears will have to prove to be contenders or pretenders. Taking on the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles, late in the season, Chicago will either hang with one of the best teams in the NFL or they'll get blown away off the field and it'll be a reality check of where the team is, no matter the record. A loss is not detrimental to the team's season as a whole, but it'll be a telling sign, no matter their record, if the Bears are ready to compete with the best.
A big stage for Chicago in their opening week of the season, they'll take the stage on Monday Night Football against the Vikings, a division game to kick off the Ben Johnson tenure. This matchup will be a big one because last year on the same stage, Chicago fell flat on their faces against Minnesota in what put a bow on a miserable season. The Vikings are more than likely rolling out with J.J. McCarthy as their starter this year, after losing Sam Darnold in free agency and McCarthy missed his rookie season last year due to a knee injury, where all eyes will be on Caleb Williams to shine.
If the Minnesota matchup is considered a big one, there will be no bigger game on the Bears' schedule in 2025 than the rematch against the Commanders. Last year, it was the beginning of the end of Chicago's season in a loss to Washington that was headlined by Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary touchdown pass. That play was the first game in a 10-game losing streak, and Daniels, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft, would go on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year over Caleb Williams, who was the No. 1 overall pick. The Bears are out for revenge, Williams is out for revenge, and this team needs to right the wrong they suffered last year.
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