Bears Schedule Release: One major detail just got announced that debunks rumors surrounding one game on Chicago’s 2026 schedule
The NFL has announced a key game on the international slate for the upcoming 2026 regular season and it actually plays a slight role in the Chicago Bears’ schedule.
As we all await the full details of the Chicago Bears’ 2026 schedule, we did learn one valuable piece of information on Tuesday ahead of the league’s full released scheduled for Thursday night.
It’s officially been announced by the NFL that the team playing the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Spain will be the Cincinnati Bengals, debunking the rumor that the Bears would be heading back overseas. The NFL plans to officially announce the full international slate on Wednesday morning on “Good Morning Football.”
The Bears are still scheduled to face the Falcons on the road at some point this upcoming season, but what we now know for sure is that the Bears will face the Falcons in Atlanta and it won’t be in Week 9.
Chicago is one of the three NFL teams with international marketing rights in Spain and it was within the realm of possibility that the Bears would play the Falcons in Madrid. Not anymore based on this recent leak.
Chicago Bears will not face the Atlanta Falcons in Marid, Spain
The Bears and Falcons have faced off 30 times in the history between the two teams with the Bears holding a 16-14 advantage. The last time they faced one another was in 2023, a game in which Chicago won 37-17 fueled by four defensive interceptions (Tyrique Stevenson 2x, Kyler Gordon, and T.J. Edwards).
This matchup will be slightly more personal this time around after former Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham left to take the general manager job in Atlanta. It was a worthy promotion, but it turned into a controversial situation this offseason in regards to the compensatory draft picks not being awarded to Chicago for developing a minority candidate.
That situation is now in the past with general manager Ryan Poles now set to lead his team against the squad Cunningham has been assembling in Atlanta alongside the new Falcons’ head coach Kevin Stefanski.
This news might be a bummer for fans that were hoping to plan a trip overseas to watch the Bears in action, but not having to make the trip to Europe is a hidden benefit for the team when it comes to travel time.
The last time the Bears played an international game was in 2024 when the Bears drafted the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, England. Chicago will have to wait at least another season before getting the opportunity to play internationally again.