The Chicago Bears have control of their fate in the playoffs on their way to the final week of the regular season. If Chicago wins in week 17, they will make it to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
But it won’t be an easy task, especially as the Bears welcome the red-hot Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field, where Chicago must take a win to best secure a post-season berth. It will be the Bears or the Arizona Cardinals – possibly both – who will make the postseason when the last week of the regular season is over.
Here are three scenarios that must happen before the Bears capture a playoff berth in Week 17.
Scenario # 1: The Bears defeat the Packers
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Result: Bears sound No. 6 or No. 7 seed
It’s simple enough – if the Bears win, they’re in. However, a Chicago win could get the sixth or seventh seed, depending on how things shake up next Sunday. But, as Bears fans know, nothing was easy with this team. And it gets all the more complicated when it comes to the Packers, a team that has had the Chicago number for nearly a decade. The Bears cannot allow the Packers to win this game in the first quarter, as they did at their last meeting four weeks ago. If Chicago wants to make it to the playoffs, they have to take matters into their own hands. And that means they pull out ultimate anger against their Goliath.
Scenario # 2: The Bears lose to the Packers and the Cardinals lose to the Rams
Rob Schumacher-Republic of Arizona
Result: Bears receive No. 7 seed
Chicago could still make it to the postseason if they lose to Green Bay next Sunday, but leaving your fate in the hands of another team isn’t ideal. Especially one that could be without its starting quarterback. If the Los Angeles Rams find a way to beat the Cardinals, the Bears would still make it to the playoffs at a loss to the Packers. This sounds like the most realistic scenario of the three given Chicago’s battle against Green Bay. But with Ram’s quarterback Jared Goff potentially sidelined with a broken thumb, it’s not a favorable situation for the Bears.
Scenario # 3: The Bears defeat the Packers and the Cardinals defeat the Rams
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Result: Bears pack No. 6 seed
Believe it or not, there is a scenario where Chicago could end up with the No. 6 seed in the NFC. But if the Bears can beat the Packers and the Cardinals can beat the Rams next Sunday, then Chicago would bring in the No. 6 seed, with Arizona closing the No. 7 seed and driving the Rams all out of the playoffs together.