Did an ESPN host accidentally leak the Seahawks Week 1 opponent?

The NFL draft has come and gone. The only thing remaining on every fan's personal calendar is... well, the calendar itself! We will be getting the official 2026 NFL regular season schedule released some time in May, but expect plenty of leaks and rumors before then. Perhaps there is one right now regarding the Seattle Seahawks.

During an episode of ESPN's Get Up, tv personality Michael Wilbon seems to have spilled the beans about who Seattle's Week 1 opponent is going to be: the Chicago Bears. Wilbon was discussing Chicago's outlook for 2026 and said "the Bears could be a better team, but not win 11 games, it's very possible given the schedule, which I believe starts out with Seattle on a Wednesday night."

The only game we know the Seahawks are playing on Wednesday will be the season opener. Wilbon's full comments can be seen in the tweet below.

Chicago was one of the surprise teams in 2025. Under first year head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears went 11-6 and captured their first NFC North title since 2018. They defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round, and narrowly fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional. What made Chicago so fascinating to watch was how they continued to pull off remarkable late game comebacks. Seven of their twelve victories came while they were trailing with 2:00 minutes or less left in the game!

A showdown between Mike Macdonald's Super Bowl caliber defense and the electrifying Caleb Williams will certainly be an excellent option for the league to begin the new season with. The last time these teams faced was in Week 17 of the 2024 season, where Seattle won 6-3 in the Windy City.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks vs Bears: Seattle rumored to open 2026 season against Chicago