Head coach Ben Johnson preached for weeks that the Bears needed 11 victories to make the playoffs.
On Saturday, they got their 11th victory. On Sunday, they got into the playoffs.
‘‘That was Step 1,’’ Johnson said Monday, about 18 hours after the Lions’ loss put the Bears in the postseason for the first time since 2020. ‘‘Step 2 is we want to win this division; we want to have at least one home playoff game. And then Step 3 would be [to] clinch a No. 1 seed.’’
The Bears, who can finish as high as the No. 1 seed or as low as the No. 7 seed, want to put themselves in position to win an NFC — and even an NFL — that’s as wide-open as it has been in years. That task would become a lot easier if things fall the Bears’ way in the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Bears will clinch the NFC North if they win one more game or if the Packers lose one more. That might happen before the Bears take the field Sunday at the 49ers because the Packers, who have two injured quarterbacks, play Saturday against the Ravens.
If the Bears lose out and the Packers win out, however, the Packers would take the division and the Bears likely would end up as the No. 7 seed, playing on the road in either Green Bay or Philadelphia.
Only division champions can be seeded in the top four, and winning the NFC North would lock the Bears into no worse than the No. 3 seed. Even if they lose to the 49ers, they still would have a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed by winning at home in Week 18 against the Lions.
To be the top overall seed, the Bears need to win out and have the Seahawks lose at least once.
‘‘There’s a lot of things still out there to play for,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘Our guys know that. . . . Not a whole lot needs to be said about it, but those goals are still out there, and we continue pressing forward.’’
The No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. The No. 2 seed will be in position to host two playoff games.
Johnson sees playing at home — and the weather and atmosphere that comes with it — as a distinct advantage.
‘‘I felt that crowd, and I was so blown away by the impact that they had on Saturday night that I think that we all want to be playing a playoff game in front of them, so they can have that same impact there,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘That’s going to be our focus. We’ve got to win this division or earn that right to play a home playoff game. We have a chance to do that over the next couple of games.’’
Winning the division and playing at least one home game has been a harbinger of success. Since the Packers beat the Bears at Soldier Field to win the NFC championship after the 2010 season, only one wild-card team has reached the Super Bowl: the 2020 Buccaneers, who defeated the Chiefs.
‘‘Getting that momentum from the home crowd and just hearing how loud it is, it’s definitely in your favor,’’ linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. ‘‘So if guys just take what they took from the game on Saturday, they will know exactly what it’s going to feel like having a home playoff game here. I could imagine it will be even louder.’’
The Bears ‘‘have bigger things we’re trying to do, as far as placement and seedings’’ the next two weeks, said Edmunds, who appeared in eight playoff games in four seasons with the Bills.
‘‘Everybody talks about ‘Super Bowl, Super Bowl,’ but you have to be able to get into the dance first to even have Super Bowl talks,’’ he said. ‘‘Being able to punch our ticket to even have a chance to bring that trophy home is something that is very important to us.
‘‘Even with that talk . . . you have two important games coming up that will shape up how that will even go in general.’’
There are no dominant teams in the NFL this season. The No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Broncos, lost to the Jaguars at home by 14 points Sunday. The Patriots, the only other AFC team to clinch a playoff berth, have a loss to the two-victory Raiders on their résumé.
Five NFC teams already have qualified for the postseason, led by the Seahawks and quarterback Sam Darnold, who had an interception, a fumble and a 77.6 passer rating in his only playoff appearance last season. The Bears already have beaten the Eagles, who have beaten the Rams. The 49ers are due up Sunday.
If the Bears’ season thus far has been any indication, the finish will be tight. That’s what Johnson was thinking Sunday as he saw the Lions, his former team, have two touchdowns wiped out in the final minute of a loss to the Steelers that got the Bears into the playoffs.
‘‘That’s this league, right?’’ Johnson said. ‘‘I mean, that’s what makes it so much fun to watch.’’
