The Chicago Bears lost a heartbreaker to the San Francisco 49ers on the Week 17 edition of “Sunday Night Football,” which set the stage for an explosive scenario on Wildcard Weekend.
Chicago would have had a shot at the No. 1 overall seed in Week 18 had the team been able to pull out a victory in the Bay Area. Now, however, the Bears will finish as either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the NFC after claiming the division crown for the first time since 2018.
The Philadelphia Eagles, whom the Bears bested in Week 13, is the only team still jostling with Chicago for playoff position. The Bears host the Detroit Lions next Sunday, January 4, while the Eagles host the Commanders on the same day. Both games kickoff at the same time (3:25 p.m. ET).
There are four potential combined outcomes of those two contests. In three of those outcomes, Chicago ends up hosting the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in the opening round of the postseason.
“The Packers will visit Chicago or Philadelphia in the playoffs,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic posted to X following the Bears’ defeat to the 49ers. “Eagles win and Bears loss, Packers go to Philly. Anything else and it’s a rubber match against the Bears.”
The Packers are the No. 7 seed regardless of the outcome of their contest against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. Thus, if the Bears win and the Eagles win, Chicago hosts Green Bay in a No. 2 vs. No. 7 matchup.
The same thing is true if the Bears win and the Eagles lose, or if both Chicago and Philadelphia fall at home to division rivals with nothing to play for beyond pride in the final game of the season.
Bears, Packers Split 2 Games in 2025 That Came Down to Wire
GettyChicago Bears starting wide receiver DJ Moore.
Not only do the Bears and Packers share the longest rivalry in NFL history, which stretches back more than a century, they have played two fairly epic games already this year — and both came within the last 21 days.
Green Bay held off a driving Bears offense at Lambeau Field on December 7, intercepting a pass from quarterback Caleb Williams in the end zone with just seconds to play in a contest that ended with a score of 28-21 in favor of the Packers.
The Bears then authored a 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on December 20 to force an overtime.
That game included Chicago recovering on onside kick with less than two minutes to play in regulation, a touchdown pass on fourth down to tie the contest with only seconds remaining on the clock and a 46-yard bomb in OT from Williams to DJ Moore to win the Bears the contest by a score of 22-16.
Bears Have Healthier Team Than Green Bay Heading Into Playoffs
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Should the Bears and Packers meet in Chicago for Round 1, which registers at a 75 percent chance without taking into account the odds of the Bears or Eagles to win/lose their Week 18 contests, Chicago should have an advantage.
That advantage, beyond home field, is simply the health of the Bears’ roster compared to the health of the personnel group in Green Bay.
Superstar edge-rusher Micah Parsons is out for the season with a torn ACL, as is tight end Tucker Kraft. Kraft was on pace to be the Packers’ top pass-catcher by a significant amount, and Parsons is one of the best defenders in the league at generating QB pressures.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Jordan Love sat out the Packers’ matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on December 26 with a concussion he sustained late in the first half of the team’s Week 16 showdown in Chicago. It is unclear if Love will play next week against Minnesota, even if he clears concussion protocol, because Green Bay has no incentive to win.
That said, Love should be ready to go by Round 1 of the playoffs, which will take place over three days between Saturday, January 10 and Monday, January 12. However, he will have missed three weeks of football by that time.
Meanwhile, Chicago’s biggest health concern — assuming Rome Odunze returns from a stress fracture in time for the postseason, as the team expects he will — is a potentially serious leg injury that rookie receiver Luther Burden III suffered on the final play of the Bears’ loss to the 49ers on Sunday night.
Team doctors carted Burden off the field with what may be a hamstring injury, though no update was immediately available.
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