The 2018 NFL season still has two weeks to play, but the Chicago Bears’ 2019 schedule is already set as far as the list of opponents is concerned.
The Chicago Bears aren’t ready to look ahead to 2019 just yet, but that doesn’t mean certain aspects of next season aren’t already starting to take shape. That includes the list of teams the Bears will play.
Most of the 2019 opponent list has been known for some time since the NFL has stuck to a rotation that sees each division matched up with one other division in their conference and one other division in the other conference. Add those eight games played out of the division with the normal home and road games played within the division and 14 of the 16 opponents are set based on a simple rotation.
In 2019, the NFC North will be matched up with the NFC East and the AFC West. All four NFC North teams will see each of the NFC East and AFC West teams on their schedule.
That leaves just two opponents to round out the schedule. Those opponents are determined by the final standings, with teams in the same conference who finish in the same place in the standings added to each others’ schedules. Since NFC North teams are already playing all the NFC East teams in 2019, those games will be played against NFC South and NFC West opponents.
These last two opponents remain up in the air for most of the league heading into week 16 but that’s not the case for the Chicago Bears. Since the Bears have already clinched the NFC North and the division champs have already been crowned in the NFC South and NFC West, the Bears’ list of 2019 opponents is complete.
The Bear’s full list of 2019 opponents is as follows.
Home games: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints
Away games: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams
The full schedule in terms of week-by-week game order and which games will be in prime time will not be released until April. For now, we just know who the Bears will play next season.