CHICAGO — The Matt Eberflus era in Chicago officially will begin when the Bears open their season against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 11 at Soldier Field, according to the 2022 schedule the team released Thursday night.
The new Bears coach then will get his first taste of the rivalry with the Green Bay Packers when his team visits Lambeau Field for “Sunday Night Football” in Week 2.
The Bears are slated to play three prime-time games in the first seven weeks of the season — the Packers game, a “Thursday Night Football” contest against the Washington Commanders at Soldier Field in Week 6 and a “Monday Night Football” game the following week against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass.
A game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium follows in Week 8, closing out an October with four road contests.
The home schedule is stacked late in the season, when the Bears play only one road game over the final six weeks — a Jan. 1 game against the Lions in Detroit. That means the Bears won’t be playing in the Thanksgiving Day game at Ford Field, which was on their schedule three of the last four seasons.
December and January home games include Week 13 against the Packers, a Christmas Eve game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 and the season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bears have a Week 14 bye, which falls on Dec. 11.
Here’s the full schedule.
— Week 1: 49ers at Bears, Sunday, Sept. 11, noon, Fox
— Week 2: Bears at Packers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 7:20 p.m., NBC
— Week 3: Texans at Bears, Sunday, Sept. 25, noon, CBS
— Week 4: Bears at Giants, Sunday, Oct. 2, noon, Fox
— Week 5: Bears at Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 9, noon, Fox
— Week 6: Commanders at Bears, Thursday, Oct. 13, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video
— Week 7: Bears at Patriots, Monday, Oct. 24, 7:15 p.m., ESPN
— Week 8: Bears at Cowboys, Sunday, Oct. 30, noon, Fox
— Week 9: Dolphins at Bears, Sunday, Nov. 6, noon, CBS
— Week 10: Lions at Bears, Sunday, Nov. 13, noon, Fox
— Week 11: Bears at Falcons, Sunday, Nov. 20, noon, Fox
— Week 12: Bears at Jets, Sunday, Nov. 27, noon, Fox
— Week 13: Packers at Bears, Sunday, Dec. 4, noon, Fox
— Week 14: Bye
— Week 15: Eagles at Bears, Sunday, Dec. 18, noon, Fox
— Week 16: Bills at Bears, Saturday, Dec. 24, noon, CBS
— Week 17: Bears at Lions, Sunday, Jan. 1, noon, Fox
— Week 18: Vikings at Bears, TBD
Preseason
— Game 1: Chiefs at Bears, Saturday, Aug. 13, noon, Fox
— Game 2: Bears at Seahawks, Thursday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m., ESPN
— Game 3: Bears at Browns, Saturday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m., Fox
Single-game tickets for the preseason and regular season will go on sale at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at chicagobears.com/tickets.
Along with the NFL’s show, teams typically take to social media to announce their schedules in creative ways. The Bears used a video featuring quarterback Justin Fields, running back David Montgomery, kicker Cairo Santos and more to announce their games.
