The Bears will kick off the 2021 season in the national prime-time spotlight against a familiar foe in a new place.
NBC announced Wednesday morning that it will televise the Week 1 matchup between the Bears and Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles Sunday night, Sept. 12 at 7:20 p.m. (CT).
For the second straight year, the Bears will open the season on the road against quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was acquired by the Rams from the Lions in a blockbuster offseason trade that sent quarterback Jared Goff and three draft picks to Detroit.
In last year's opener, the Bears rallied from a 23-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns to stun the Lions 27-23 in Detroit. Stafford completed 24 of 42 passes for 297 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 77.2 passer rating.
The last time the Bears opened a season against the Rams was in 1950 when George Halas coached his team to a 24-20 win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to help defeat former Bears teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Stydahar in his first game as Rams head coach.
Later on Wednesday …
• The rest of the Bears schedule will be unveiled on ChicagoBears.com and the Chicago Bears Official App at 6:45 p.m. (CT)
• The entire NFL schedule will be announced on the Schedule Release '21 special on NFL Network at 7 p.m. (CT)
• Bears preseason and regular-season single-game tickets and suites will go on sale to the general public at 8:30 p.m. (CT)
With the NFL expanding the regular-season schedule to 17 games, take a look at the Bears' finalized home and away matchups for the 2021 season.
Home vs. Arizona Cardinals
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 20, 2015
Score: Bears 23 - Cardinals 48
Home vs. San Francisco 49ers
Last meeting in Chicago: Dec. 3, 2017
Score: Bears 14 - 49ers 15
Home vs. Baltimore Ravens
Last meeting in Chicago: Nov. 17, 2013
Score: Bears 23 - Ravens 20
Home vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 8, 2013
Score: Bears 24 - Bengals 21
Home vs. New York Giants
Last meeting in Chicago: Sept. 20, 2020
Score: Bears 17 - Giants 13
Home vs. Detroit Lions
Last meeting in Chicago: Dec. 6, 2020
Score: Bears 30 - Lions 34
Home vs. Minnesota Vikings
Last meeting in Chicago: Nov. 16, 2020
Score: Bears 13 - Vikings 19
Home vs. Green Bay Packers
Last meeting in Chicago: Jan. 3, 2021
Score: Bears 16 - Packers 35
Away vs. Los Angeles Rams
Last meeting in Los Angeles: Oct. 26, 2020
Score: Bears 10 - Rams 24
Away vs. Seattle Seahawks
Last meeting in Seattle: Sept. 27, 2015
Score: Bears 0 - Seahawks 26
Away vs. Cleveland Browns
Last meeting in Cleveland: Dec. 15, 2013
Score: Bears 38 - Browns 31
Away vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Last meeting in Pittsburgh: Sept. 22, 2013
Score: Bears 40 - Steelers 23
Away vs.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last meeting in Tampa: Sept. 17, 2017
Score: Bears 7 - Buccaneers 29
Away vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Last meeting at Raiders: Oct. 6, 2019 (London)
Score: Bears 21 - Raiders 24
Away vs. Detroit Lions
Last meeting in Detroit: Sept. 13, 2020
Score: Bears 27 - Lions 23
Away vs. Minnesota Vikings
Last meeting in Minnesota: Dec. 20, 2020
Score: Bears 33 - Vikings 27
Away vs. Green Bay Packers
Last meeting in Green Bay: Nov. 29, 2020
Score: Bears 25 - Packers 41
