Good morning, Bears fans!

There’s nothing like a great road trip to watch the Bears, especially if they win.

Today’s issue ranks all eight road trips in 2026 and I’d love to hear where you’re planning to go … and what your favorite Bears road trip ever was.

Just hit the reply button to let me know …

— Kevin Kaduk

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01 Stadium News
Bears to update NFL today
But what they can say at the league’s quarterly other than “it’s still either Arlington Heights or Hammond” is unclear. With 12 days left in the month, there hasn’t been much politicking on the Megaprojects Bill, at least not out in the open.

02 Illinois Politics
Pritzker slams Johnson
The Illinois governor finally lost his patience with the Chicago mayor’s late grandstanding, calling Brandon Johnson’s lobbying visit to Springfield earlier this month “kind of typical.”

02 NFL News
2030 Super Bowl in Nashville?
If you’re keeping score, the Titans announced plans for their new stadium a year after the Bears bid on their Arlington Heights property. Not only is Tennessee’s new stadium already scheduled to open in 2027, it could be hosting a Super Bowl in 2030 if a league vote goes their way at this week’s meetings.

1️⃣1️⃣7️⃣ Days Until The Season Opener
🎂 Today’s Bears Birthdays: Keith Jennings (60)

❝

“He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago. So, that's problematic. I'd love them to be in the city, but we are three years in now, and he still has no plan.”

JB Pritzker on Brandon Johnson

Ranking The Road Trips

Photo by Meriç Dağlı on Unsplash

If money were no object and I had all the time in the world, I’d like to attend every road game the Chicago Bears play this year.

That’s not reality for me … and it’s probably not reality for you.

So decisions must be made.

With the 2026 schedule out in the open, we can now look at all eight road games and rank them in order of attractiveness.

My ranking is subjective and based on three things: The atmosphere of the stadium and the city, the quality of the matchup and where the game falls on the schedule.

Bears fans travel so well that any of these eight trips would be killer.

But here’s how I rank them:

8 - Carolina (September 13)
The opener has the potential to be a good game, but to borrow a line from Joakim Noah: “I never heard anyone say I’m going to Charlotte on vacation.”

7 - Detroit (Thanksgiving)
Ford Field is an underrated NFL stadium/atmosphere (it gets loud) and this could be one of the top games of the year. But when a Lions-Bears game ends on Turkey Day, I want to be sitting down to dinner and more football, not four hours of driving.

6 - Minnesota (January 9/10)
The Twin Cities are a great road trip, though not in January. Also, the uncertainty around this game … from the exact date to whether the game will actually matter keeps it lower half. Good thing there’s always next year.

5 - Atlanta (October 18)
This one really stands out as the “Oh, Bears fans took OVER” candidate of the year. Peep the Falcons’ cheap concessions if you’re planning on going and make sure to hit the College Football Hall of Fame, which features two new Bears inductees — Olin Kreutz and Jerry Azumah.

4 - Miami (December 13)
I’m not the biggest Miami guy, which is why I have this game here and others might have it No. 1. The distance between South Beach and the stadium is also a bit prohibitive. Still, it’ll be hard to beat South Florida temperatures in December.

3 - Buffalo (December 19)
Caleb Williams vs. Josh Allen. New stadium. Chicken wings. Saturday night. Any questions?

2 - Seattle (November 2)
I went to a Bears-Seahawks game in 2007 and I still can’t wait to get back. Plenty of weekend activities downtown and the pregame walk to the stadium is top notch. You won’t believe how loud it gets.

1 - Green Bay (October 11)
There aren’t many better road trip experiences in the NFL than making a drive through Wisconsin in early fall with a football game at the end of it. And when it’s a Bears-Packers game with the rivalry all the way back? Even better. The secondary market prices for this one aren’t for the timid, but they’ll be worth it.

Which Road Trip Is Tops This Year?

— # (#)

Arlington Heights is ready for the Bears stadium, even if the megaprojects bill still hasn’t passed yet. (Fox 32)
Adam Jahns on short- and long-term expectations for this year’s draft class. (CHGO Sports)
Luis Medina on Von Miller’s potential fit with the Bears. (Bleacher Nation)
The mayors in Rolling Meadows, Palatine and Schaumburg are concerned with the traffic implications of a new Bears stadium. (NBC 5 Chicago)