The leak by Fox Monday revealing the Bears play on Dec. 20 at Soldier Field against the Green Bay Packers is one carrying a possible huge scheduling ramification.
The Week 16 game is the second of two slated for that day, and follows the Eagles-Commanders rematch of the NFC Championship Game. That's not what's unusual about it.
The Bears-Packers game is being played on a Saturday, five days before Christmas.
This should raise everyone’s suspicions.
Jordan Love flees the field with energy and emotion after Packers blocked the Bears kick, WOW pic.twitter.com/DQPkD51ZdC
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) November 17, 2024
Teams that play on Saturday can easily turn around and play on Christmas. It looks a great deal like the NFL is setting up the Bears to be one of the six teams to play on Christmas this year.
The full schedule is slated to come out on Wednesday but it's possible they'll leak some more of the holiday games in advance, maybe on Tuesday.
FOX got two monster games on Saturday, December 20th in Bears-Packers and Eagles-Commanders.
That same day, the College Football Playoffs will have a triple-header.
Lot of football.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) May 12, 2025
The league already announced it would have three games on Christmas and games on the holiday in the future.
With Sunday Dec. 21 off, the Bears would be more able to play a game on the following Thursday than any of the teams playing on Sunday, Dec. 22.
In fact, it almost seems like a waste for the NFL to slate a team to play Dec. 20 if they’re not playing on Dec. 25. Only a team playing on Thursday, Dec. 18 would be better situated for a Dec. 25 game.
Now that the 1st Bears vs. Packers matchup is confirmed
Friendly reminder what happened last time 😎
(@JoshuaBlackwe12) pic.twitter.com/bHUgKrx8ez
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) May 12, 2025
Christmas games will be put on Amazon and Netflix. However, the league still would have to put those games on a local television station just as with Thursday night and Monday night regular-season games.
The same is true for the Week 17 game the league announced it plans to put on the Peacock streaming network.
Bears and Packers in Week 16 does mean the Packers are still available in Green Bay for a Bears season opener.
FOX will air a Week 16 doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 20:
🏈Eagles at Commanders
🏈Packers at Bears. pic.twitter.com/c3DqMxKmzY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 12, 2025
At this point, that would have to be considered quite the yawner for an opener because it would be the 36th time the teams meet to start a season. Enough is enough already.
An ideal Christmas Bears game? How about a rematch of Jayden Daniels against Caleb Williams, the greatest gift in NFL history—the Hail Mary victory handed over to the Commanders last year.
Both the Bears and Commanders would have the same five days before playing again on Christmas because they both play Dec. 20.
🚨🚨BREAKING: THIS IS INSANE🚨🚨🚨
A MIRACLE IN WASHINGTON. THE #COMMANDERS WALK OFF THE BEARS ON A 52 YARD HAIL MARY THAT BOUNCED OFF MULTIPLE HANDS…
TO THE WR.
WHAT THE F*CKKKKKKKKK
LEGENDARY. HISTORY. 😱😱😱😱😱
pic.twitter.com/N76lD0detX
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 27, 2024
X: BearsOnSI