The Chicago Bears have played nine games of the 2026 season and the team is looking very much like a Super Bowl contender.
The Bears are in first place in the NFC North with a 7-2 record going into the weekend of Week 10 and will keep the spot atop the division if both the Detroit Lions (vs. New England Patriots) and Minnesota Vikings (vs. Green Bay Packers) lose.
Not only has the Bears’ offense been playing at a high level thanks to Caleb Williams’ ascension to elite status, but the defense has been playing better-than-expected football, also.
Entering Week 10, the Bears rank top 10 in total yards, rushing yards and points allowed per game, and their pass defense has been pretty good, with Chicago ranking 14th.
And there’s hope for even better moving forward, as the Bears may be getting Dayo Odeyingbo back soon, and the addition of Jeffery Simmons has already provided a major boost and will continue to do so the rest of the way.
Do the Bears play today?
No, the Bears do not have a game in Week 10. That’s because Chicago is enjoying its bye week.
But the rest of the NFC North will be in action, and with the Bears owning a loose grip on first place, we’ll be paying close attention to what their division rivals do.
The Lions play the Patriots in Germany at 9:30 a.m. ET, and the Packers are hosting the Vikings at Lambeau in the 1p.m. ET window.
Bears’ remaining schedule and win-loss predictions
Here’s how we see things shaking out for the Chicago Bears the rest of the season.
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: vs. New Orleans Saints – Sunday, Nov. 22, 1 p.m. ET, FOX (win)
Week 12: at Detroit Lions – Thursday, Nov. 22, 1 p.m. ET, FOX (loss)
Week 14: at Miami Dolphins – Sunday, Dec. 13, 1 p.m. ET, CBS (win)
Week 15: at Buffalo Bills – Saturday, Dec. 19, 8:20 p.m. ET, CBS (loss)
Week 16: vs. Green Bay Packers – Friday, Dec. 25, 1 p.m. ET, Netflix (win)
Week 17: vs. Detroit Lions – Sunday, Jan 3, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX (win)
Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings – TBD (win)
Final record prediction: 13-4 (1st place in NFC North)
Catching up on tie-breakers
The NFC North is once again very competitive this season, so it might take every one of those 13 wins to secure the division.
What’s important for the Bears moving forward is shoring up some of these divisional tie-breakers they are behind in. The two most important ones are head-to-head record against NFC North opponents and divisional record.
Chicago has lost games to the Vikings and Packers, so both teams hold the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Bears for now, and as a result of those two losses, the Bears are 0-2 in the division, which amounts to the worst mark in the NFC North.
The next divisional game for Chicago comes in Week 12 against the Lions, and then they’ll close out the season with three straight divisional contests against the Packers, Lions and Vikings.
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