The Bears can clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs by winning out.
They can get there a lot faster, too — before kickoff against the 49ers on Sunday night.
If the Packers lose to the Ravens on Saturday night and the Eagles lose to the Bills on Sunday afternoon, then the Bears will be guaranteed the No. 2 seed regardless of what they do the last two games. If they became the No. 2 seed, they’d likely host the Packers in Round 2.
The Bears can land the top overall seed. While there are scenarios that involve ties, the most direct way to do it is for the Bears to win out and for the Seahawks to lose one of their last two games.
If the Bears beat the 49ers and the Seahawks win in Carolina this week, though, the Seahawks could benefit from a walkover in Week 18. They’re set to play the 49ers, who would be guaranteed a road playoff game in Round 1 and have little to gain from playing their starters in the regular season finale. The Seahawks, of course, would play their starters with a chance to earn the top seed.
If the Bears win and the Seahawks lose on Sunday, the Bears would be one win away from the top seed — and facing a Lions team with nothing to gain from playing their starters. The Lions’ slim playoff hopes were snuffed out when they lost to the Vikings on Thursday.
After the game, coach Dan Campbell didn’t get specific about whether he’d sit his starters at Soldier Field, but said that, in general, “I expect everybody to be ready to go when we get back in in a couple days … and be ready when we get on the plane to go to Chicago.” Campbell’s next press conference is Monday, when the Bears will know what’s at stake.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said Friday he hasn’t resting scenarios any thought as the Bears prepare for the 49ers.
“I’d be doing our guys a disservice,” he said Friday. “We have a really tough opponent at hand here this week. Going out to Santa Clara, across the country. And they’re hot right now. That’s all I really care about, is finding a way to go 1-0 this week.”