Here is a game-by-game look at the Bears’ 2024 schedule:
Quarterback Caleb Williams will make his NFL debut. It also will be the first game as Titans coach for Brian Callahan, who was born in Champaign when dad Bill was the Illini’s offensive line coach.
C.J. Stroud will make his home debut after posting one of the greatest rookie seasons by a quarterback. For context, his 4,108 passing yards last season were more than Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky threw for as rookies combined.
Strangely, the Bears and Colts will have a mutual opponent for film study before they face off against each other. The Colts play the Texans in Week 1, and the Bears play them in Week 2.
The Rams’ new defensive coordinator is Chris Shula, the son of former Bengals coach David and the grandson of former Dolphins coach Don. As head coaches, the Shulas won 14 of 19 games against the Bears.
The Bears should have a festive tin of Garrett popcorn waiting for each Panthers player, coach and executive when they arrive in their hotel rooms. Their trade gifted Williams to the Bears — and the Panthers still owe the Bears a second-round pick.
The last time the teams played, the Jaguars were in full tank mode so they could draft Trevor Lawrence. The Bears’ 24-point rout in 2020 was their third-largest margin of victory in the last five years.
The matchup between Williams and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels will be the first game between rookie quarterbacks drafted first and second overall in, well, only a year. The Panthers (Bryce Young) beat the Texans (Stroud) last season.
The oldest rivalry in the NFL isn’t Bears-Packers, it’s Bears-Cardinals. The matchup dates to 1920, when the Decatur Staleys first faced the Racine Cardinals. Red Grange’s NFL debut came against the Cardinals in 1925.
For the first time since 1997, the Bears will face a Patriots team that won’t have coach Bill Belichick at the helm. The Patriots have a league-high 293 regular-season wins since 1997; the Bears are 23rd with 195.
Justin Fields went 0-6 against the Packers in his career, posting a 75.5 passer rating. Mitch Trubisky went 1-6 with a 79.5 rating. There’s nowhere for Williams to go but up.
Amazingly, this game is an early matchup for the teams. Ten of the last 19 games between the Bears and Vikings have come in December or January, including the finales of the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
The Lions’ first Thanksgiving Day game was a 19-16 loss to the Bears in 1934. A Lions tradition was born, and they’ve played on Turkey Day every year since, except for a gap in 1939-44.
Using projected win totals from oddsmakers, the Bears have the third-easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this season, behind the Falcons and Chargers. The 49ers, then, might be the best team they play.
The Bears are 34-42 all-time on ‘‘Monday Night Football.’’ They won their last two games — in Minnesota last season and New England in 2022 — to snap a four-game ‘‘MNF’’ losing streak.
The Bears’ 15-point home win against the Lions last season was the second-largest margin of defeat the NFC runner-up took all season, behind a 32-point loss to the Ravens.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, running backs coach Chad Morton, offensive line coach Chris Morgan and safeties coach Andre Curtis all get a shot to beat their former employer.
The Bears have played season finales against the Packers five times since 2000 and lost all five, most recently a 17-9 defeat last season at Lambeau Field that got the Cheeseheads into the playoffs.
