LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- This season marks a bittersweet 10th anniversary for Chicago Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, whose 2016 season with the Atlanta Falcons brought the greatest moment -- and heartbreak -- of his career.
That season ended with Jarrett playing in his first and so far only Super Bowl. He had a game-high three sacks of New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, but Jarrett doesn't celebrate the historic nature of that game. The game featured the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history as the Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit to win 34-28 in overtime.
But if there's one positive takeaway Jarrett could use to teach his current teammates, it's this: The Falcons entered that season with the toughest strength of schedule in the NFL. That's the challenge the Bears face, beginning with Sunday's opener on the road against the defending NFC South champion Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
"It's just a testament to how hard we worked last season to be able to have the opportunity to have the quote-unquote hardest schedule," Jarrett said. "We've got a lot of primetime games [five]. People want to see us play.
"When we go out there and play, we've got to give them a show."
Chicago faces four division champs this season, including the Panthers. The Bears also take on the defending Super Bowl and NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks, NFC East champs Philadelphia Eagles and AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bears' foes had a .550 winning percentage last season, and eight of Chicago's 17 games will be against playoff teams.
If coach Ben Johnson needed evidence for why the Bears can't rest on their laurels after an 11-6 finish and NFC North title in 2025, that schedule should help. Also, over the past 15 seasons, only the 2013 Panthers, 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2016 Falcons, 2021 Steelers and 2023 Eagles made the playoffs after facing the league's hardest schedule.
"You know, the Chicago Bears are such an iconic franchise, and it's great the Chicago Bears being back in the playoffs and being able to get in the playoffs, get a win, win the NFC North, but there's still more things to achieve," said Bears guard Joe Thuney, a four-time Super Bowl champ with the Kansas City Chiefs. "And obviously, there are a lot of cool moments last year, but I don't think anybody in this building is satisfied. I don't think anybody's relaxing on that or resting on that.
"And I think that's what's so cool is, there's still a very, very, strong burning hunger and desire to push more and keep going, keep improving. So, there's a lot still left to do."
The Bears' offseason featured videos of fans celebrating the team's first playoff win since 2011 in a commercial for United Airlines that ran for months. Bears chairman George H. McCaskey was repeatedly watching the viral mashup of Caleb Williams' overtime winner against the Packers set to the tune of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
Williams made the EA Sports Madden NFL 27 cover, and the Bears have been a feel-good story. But the celebrations and that schedule, and the history of teams facing such a gauntlet, made Johnson wary. DraftKings Sportsbook was also wary and projected a third-place Bears finish in the NFC North, behind the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.
"Are you trying to annoy me right now?" Johnson said when asked about 2025 once more during a late August joint practice with the Tennessee Titans.
"Talking about last year isn't going to do us any good in terms of winning this practice, winning the next preseason game, winning Week 1, and that's really all we care about right now."
