Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears have learned they will spend Thanksgiving taking on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in the latest 2026 NFL schedule leaks.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Bears will visit the Lions on November 26 as part of the league’s annual Thanksgiving tripleheader, marking the second time that Johnson will return to Ford Field since becoming Chicago’s new head coach in 2025.
The Bears went 0-2 against the Lions in Johnson’s first season, suffering a brutal 52-21 loss in Week 2’s road matchup at Ford Field, but they also won the NFC North for the first time since 2018 and reached the NFC divisional round of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
The Bears have known since January 5’s NFL announcement which opponents they will face during the 2026 season and whether they will be home or away in each matchup.
Chicago and its NFC North rivals will square off against all four teams in both the NFC South (Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints) and the AFC East (Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots). The Bears will also host the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars for home games at Soldier Field and visit the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
The NFL will unveil its full 2026 regular season schedule at 8 p.m. ET on May 14.
Bears Won’t Have Game in Spain on 2026 Schedule
While the Bears are still awaiting the full details of their 2026 regular-season schedule, they do know at least one more fact: They won’t play a game in Madrid, Spain, in 2026.
Many had speculated that the Bears — who are due to face the Falcons on the road in 2026 — would be tabbed as the team to face the NFC South franchise in Madrid as part of the NFL’s slate of international games this year. The Bears are one of three teams with marketing rights in Spain, along with the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, though, the Falcons will instead face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second-ever NFL game played in Spain, following behind last year’s first-ever league game in Spain between the Dolphins and Commanders.
“An international game update from the @Disney upfront: the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons will play Week 9, Sunday, Nov. 8, in Madrid, Spain, on NFL Network,” Schefter wrote May 12 on X.
Bears Schedule Will Feature Only 1 West Coast Game
Another intriguing detail about the Bears’ schedule — one that could prove beneficial — is that they will not spend much time playing west of the Central time zone in 2026.
Outside of their road game against Seattle, the Bears do not have another matchup in either the Mountain or Pacific time zones during the 2026 regular season, as they are the only team on their schedule that does not play in the Central or Eastern time zones.
When the Seattle matchup falls could also help out Chicago. As the 2025 Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks will play in the league’s special Wednesday slot to kick off the 2026 regular season. If the NFL picked the Bears as their opponents, they would have a 10-day break between their opener and their Week 2 game, presumably on a Sunday.
In any case, the lack of time-zone hopping should help to keep the Bears fresher as the 2026 regular season progresses.
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