The NFL will release the full 2025 schedules for all 32 teams on Wednesday, May 14th. We already know the opponent slate for the Chicago Bears, but we still are waiting to hear what week each game will be played and which will be played on primetime.
Leading up to the schedule release, let's have some fun and predict three potential matchups for the 2025 season.
1. Ben Johnson Era kicks off on the road vs. the Eagles on Thursday Night Football
The last time the Chicago Bears opened the season on Thursday Night Football was in 2019 when the team opened the season against the Green Bay Packers with Mitch Trubisky making his NFL debut against Aaron Rodgers.
My first prediction for the 2025 schedule is that the Bears open the season as the first game of the NFL regular season, but this time against the reigning Super Bowl Champions in the Philadelphia Eagles.
And what a first game this would be for head coach Ben Johnson.
The last time the Bears played at Philadelphia was in 2019. The Bears have also lost three straight road games against the Eagles. Knocking off the defending champs on the road to open the season would be an incredible feat to start off this new era.
2. Ben Johnson makes his return to Detroit on Thanksgiving
The Bears have played 38 games on Thanksgiving, tied with the Green Bay Packers for the third-most games played on Thanksgiving. Nineteen of those 38 games were played against the Detroit Lions.
It's a common holiday matchup the league loves to schedule, including last season in which the Lions defeated the Bears 23-20 after a clock-management blunder by former head coach Matt Eberflus on national television, which ended up being Eberflus' final game with the team.
In 2018 and 2019, the Bears played at Detroit on Thanksgiving, so doing so in back-to-back seasons wouldn't be too uncommon.
This one would be special too because it would be Ben Johnson's return to Detroit, where he spent six seasons as an assistant coach and coordinator under Dan Campbell.
I can already see Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams sharing a turducken leg on national television while the remaining Bears fans at Ford Field go crazy.
3. Bears end the season at Soldier Field vs. Packers on Sunday Night Football, winner gets into playoffs
The Chicago Bears haven't won a home game against the Green Bay Packers since December of 2018, losing each of their previous six match ups at home against their bitter rivals.
The Bears got the last laugh against the Packers in 2024, however, coming away with a 24-22 win at Lambeau Field in Week 18. Ultimately, the game meant nothing besides the pride gained for the players in the Bears' locker room. Chicago was already eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago and the Packers already solidified a its playoff berth prior to the game.
Once again, for the third consecutive year, I have the Bears ending the season against the Packers, but this time at home, and this time with tons of implications at stake.
Depending on what kind of jump the Bears have in 2025, I could see this potential game deciding which team claims a wild card spot and which team misses out. This would be such an easy one to flex into an incredible Sunday Night Football matchup to cap off the regular season.
