Bears’ 2021 opponents set — for now — after finishing 2nd in NFC North

With the Bears finishing second in the NFC North after a 35-16 loss to the Packers in Week 17, their 2021 opponents have been finalized.

As usual, the Bears will play six games in the division. They’ll also play the entire NFC West and AFC North, plus the same-place finishers in the NFC East and South.

Here’s whom they’ll face:

Home
Packers
Vikings
Lions
49ers
Cardinals
Ravens
Bengals
Giants

Away
Packers
Vikings
Lions
Steelers
Rams
Browns
Seahawks
Buccaneers

The NFL is likely to add a 17th game next season, which would add one more matchup to the list.

This will be the Bears’ first trips to Pittsburgh and Cleveland since 2013 and their first time in Tampa since 2017. They’ve beaten the Browns and Steelers three times in a row, with their last loss to each team coming in 2005.

It will be their fourth consecutive season facing the Giants and Rams. They visited the Rams the last two seasons.

NFL owners voted for the potential 17th game to be a rotating interconference matchup based on division standings, and MMQB reported the NFC North will be paired with the AFC West. That means the Bears will host or visit the Raiders.

Each team’s opponents are predetermined by the NFL’s scheduling rotation, and the league typically announces dates and times in the spring. Schedules were released in May last year.