The Chicago Bears will enter December as the NFC’s No. 1 seed and in control of their own playoff destiny.
Yes, you read that correctly.
If the season ended today, the Bears would own a first-round playoff bye, and the road to Super Bowl LX would run through Chicago.
Heady times for Ben Johnson in his first season as the Bears’ head coach and for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years.
The Bears’ 24-15 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, combined with the Los Angeles Rams’ shocking 31-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, made all that a reality as the Week 13 schedule drew to a close. Chicago owns tiebreakers over LA and Philadelphia, meaning if it can win its final five regular-season games, it would finish on top of the NFC.
That road won’t be easy, though, as the Bears will play four games against three playoff contenders during that stretch. They will face the NFC North rival Packers twice (Dec. 7 in Green Bay and Dec. 20 at Soldier Field), visit the San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 28), and host the Detroit Lions (Jan. 3 or Jan. 4). A Dec. 14 home game against the 3-9 Cleveland Browns rounds out the Bears’ remaining schedule.
Still, Johnson and Co. must feel good about their chances, as they’ve won nine of their last 10 games.
Here are the NFC playoff standings entering Week 14:
NFC playoff standings
- x-Chicago Bears (9-3)
- x-LA Rams (9-3)
- x-Philadelphia Eagles (9-3)
- x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
- Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
x-division leaders
————————————- - Detroit Lions (7-5)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-7)
- Washington Commanders (3-8)
- New Orleans Saints (2-9)
AFC playoff standings on NFL.com
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