This is a fun time to be a Chicago Bears fan. We are at the midpoint of the 2026 season, and some pundits are actually calling the Bears the best team in the NFL. Caleb Williams is being talked up like a top-5 quarterback. Ben Johnson is being mentioned as an elite playcaller (okay, that happened last year, too). But the most unlikely talking point for analysts is that the Chicago Bears defense is back.
The trade for Jeffery Simmons energized the franchise and leveled up the defense.
His one-game impact
put the NFL on notice, has opposing offenses rethinking how to attack Chicago’s defense, and has the Bears social media team giving the unit a fun nickname (Dennis’ Menaces).
The Bears will be trying for their fourth win in a row, and a third straight victory in prime time when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town. After a 0-4 start, the Bucs have won three of their last four games, powered by one of the NFL’s best defenses and running games.
Here’s everything you need to know for the game!
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GAME INFO
The Bears and Seahawks kick off at 7:20 pm CT on Sunday, November 8, from Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. It should be another comfortable night for football, with no rain in the forecast, a high of 50, and a low of 37. Winds could be about 10-15 mph.
TELEVISION
The game will be on NBC/Peacock with Mike Tirico on play-by-play, analyst Cris Collinsworth, and Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines.
If you live in the map below, you get to see the game!
RADIO
ESPN Chicago (1000 AM, 100.3 FM HD2) with Jeff Joniak (play-by-play), Tom Thayer (analyst), and Jason McKie (sideline) on the call, and LATINO MIX 93.5 FM (Spanish) with Omar Ramos.
ODDS
The Bears are a 6.5-point favorite, with the game total over/under at 47.5.
PREVIEWS
We’ve previewed the game from all angles here at Windy City Gridiron, so scroll through our articles for more, and check out our in-depth previews on our 2nd City Gridiron Channels. Here’s our latest from Taylor Doll, who is joined by NFL Pro’s Trevor Sikkema to give us the skinny on the Bucs, and then she talks with Quinten Krzysko from Bears On Tap, who dives into all things Chicago.
PODCAST
VIDEO
POSTGAME
Our day-after Bears game recap show is back for another season, so tune in for Bear & Balanced this Monday at 6:00 pm CT for a cooled-down review of the game with Jeff Berckes and Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. After the show, you can catch the audio on our podcast channel.
We’ll have plenty of pregame and postgame content all season long on our 2nd City Gridiron channels. The podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and all other popular podcast platforms, so be sure to hit subscribe wherever you get your audio. Our YouTube home is also called 2nd City Gridiron, so subscribe there for our podcasts and other video content.
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