Bears likely to play NFL season kickoff and Thanksgiving Day this year — report

Get ready for another Thanksgiving Day with the Bears because the team is likely to face the Lions in a holiday rematch later this year, according to SportsBusiness Daily. The Nov. 28 matchup would pit the same two NFC North rivals against each other for the second straight year, with the other afternoon game reportedly including the Cowboys and Dolphins.

The report also says the NFL is “leaning” toward having the Bears host the Packers on Sept. 5 in order to kickoff the league’s 100th season. That decision would mean leaving the reigning Super Bowl champion out of the opener for the first time in over a decade.

The Lions and Cowboys traditionally host the Thanksgiving Day games each year with rotating opponents. The Bears beat the Lions, 23-16, on the holiday last year, as part of their division-winning campaign. Taylor Gabriel appears to be looking forward to the rematch already:

The NFL already announced the opponents that each of its 32 teams will be facing during the 2019 season, but other details remain under wraps until later in the spring. Last year, the complete official schedule came out in April.

The Bears’ 2019 home games include matchups against the Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys and Saints. Their road games include matchups against the Broncos, Rams, Raiders and Eagles. They’ll also face each of their division rivals twice as usual.