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Chicago Bears 2021 schedule: All the matchups, dates and times for the 17-game season

colleen kane, chicago tribune
Chicago Bears 2021 schedule: All the matchups, dates and times for the 17-game season

Chicago Bears fans will have to wait a while before they find out when Justin Fields will make his first NFL start at quarterback.

But they at least know the 17 regular-season dates it potentially could happen this season after the Bears released their 2021 schedule Wednesday night.

Here’s the schedule, which includes four prime-time games:

Week 1: Bears at Rams, Sunday, Sept. 12, 7:20 p.m. (NBC-5)

Week 2: Bengals at Bears, Sunday, Sept. 19, noon (FOX-32)

Week 3: Bears at Browns, Sunday, Sept. 26, noon (FOX-32)

Week 4: Lions at Bears, Sunday, Oct. 3, noon (FOX-32)

Week 5: Bears at Raiders, Sunday, Oct. 10, 3:05 p.m. (CBS-2)

Week 6: Packers at Bears, Sunday, Oct. 17, noon (FOX-32)

Week 7: Bears at Buccaneers, Sunday, Oct. 24, 3:25 p.m. (CBS-2)

Week 8: 49ers at Bears, Sunday, Oct. 31, noon (FOX-32)

Week 9: Bears at Steelers, Monday, Nov. 8, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Week 10: Bye week

Week 11: Ravens at Bears, Sunday, Nov. 21, noon (CBS-2)

Week 12: Bears at Lions, Thursday, Nov. 25, 11:30 a.m. (FOX-32)

Week 13: Cardinals at Bears, Sunday, Dec. 5, noon (FOX-32)

Week 14: Bears at Packers, Sunday, Dec. 12, 7:20 p.m. (NBC-5)

Week 15: Vikings at Bears, Monday, Dec. 20, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Week 16: Bears at Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 26, 3:05 p.m. (FOX-32)

Week 17: Giants at Bears, Sunday, Jan. 2, noon (CBS-2)

Week 18: Bears at Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 9, noon (FOX-32)

Preseason

Game 1: Dolphins at Bears, Saturday, Aug. 14, noon (FOX-32)

Game 2: Bills at Bears, Saturday, Aug. 21, noon (FOX-32)

Game 3: Bears at Titans, Saturday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. (FOX-32)

The Bears will open their season Sept. 12 against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and will end it in Minnesota in Week 18 against the Vikings.

It will be the fourth straight season the Bears and Rams will meet in prime time. The Rams won the last two at home — and neither matchup went well for the Bears. Of course, this Rams team has a different look after they traded for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford this offseason. The Bears opened their 2020 season against Stafford and the Lions and won 27-23.

The regular-season finale at U.S. Bank Stadium marks the sixth time in the last eight years the Bears close out the season in Minnesota.

Of interest for Bears fans wanting to travel, the Bears will play their first game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas when they take on the Raiders on Oct. 10. They also will travel to play the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 24. And they will play the Seahawks in Seattle on Dec. 26.

In NFC North play, the Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 on Oct. 17 and play at Lambeau Field on “Sunday Night Football” on Dec. 12. The latter matchup is the first of two consecutive NFC North prime-time games, with a Week 15 game against the Vikings on “Monday Night Football” following.

The Bears will host the Lions in Week 4 and play them on Thanksgiving in Detroit. It will be the third time in the last four seasons the Bears and Lions have played at Ford Field on Thanksgiving.

The Bears will play their other prime-time game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 8. One of the biggest home games of the season could come two weeks later, when the Bears host the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 after their bye week.

The NFL gave the Bears an interesting schedule quirk this year. For the first time in franchise history, they will alternate home and road games every week.

With the addition of the 17th regular-season game, the preseason was reduced from four to three games. All NFC teams, including the Bears, will host two preseason games this year. The preseason opener will be against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field on Aug. 14, while the Buffalo Bills — and new backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky — will meet the Bears at Soldier Field on Aug. 21.

The Bears look to be on the path to welcoming fans back to Soldier Field in 2021 after playing in front of an empty stadium in 2020 because of COVID-19.

Illinois on Friday begins its bridge phase of COVID-19 restrictions — between Phases 4 and 5 — with a full reopening coming as soon as June 11. Chicago could follow suit, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot previously targeting a full reopening by July 4.

The Bears announced last week that sales of single-game tickets and suites for the preseason and regular season would begin at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Along with a three-hour schedule release show on NFL Network, teams unveiled their schedules on Twitter in creative ways Wednesday. The Bears partnered with Benjamin Moore in a video to promote the schedule that the team tweeted Wednesday. It included special guests such as Bears running back David Montgomery, former Bears defensive lineman Anthony Adams and ESPN broadcaster Sarah Spain.

Check back at chicagotribune.com/sports for more updates, including way-too-early predictions for the 2021 season. Last year, Brad Biggs, Colleen Kane and Dan Wiederer each predicted the Bears would finish 9-7. They finished 8-8.