It’s a good thing the Chicago Bears are accustomed to tight results this season. It appears the NFL playoff picture — particularly in the NFC — will be more of the same.
The Bears’ 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday kept them atop the NFC North with an 8-3 record and in the NFC’s No. 3 playoff seed. If the season ended today, the division rival Green Bay Packers would visit Soldier Field for a wild-card playoff game.
Talk about one for the ages …
[MORE: Five ways Bears made franchise, NFL history in win over Steelers]
Before the Bears, who are 6-1 in one-score games this season, even can think about that, though, they still have work to do. If they don’t keep stacking wins, they risk slipping out of playoff contention.
A road win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday certainly would help the Bears’ playoff cause. The Eagles, who blew a 21-0 lead Sunday in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys, also are 8-3 and leading their division, but a Bears win would give them a head-to-head tiebreaker that could prove valuable at the end of the season.
The Los Angeles Rams, at 9-2, currently hold the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, and their upcoming schedule looks favorable, save games against the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks in a five-day stretch in mid-December. The Eagles beat the Rams in September, though, so they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Bears also still have games against teams that trail them in the NFC playoff standings. They will play the Packers twice (Dec. 7 in Green Bay and Dec. 20 at Soldier Field), visit the San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 28), and host the Lions (Jan. 3 or Jan. 4). So, in many ways, the Bears control their own destiny. Keep winning, keep leading the division.
The games against the Packers and Lions particularly are important. Chicago leads Green Bay by a half-game and Detroit by one, so wins are vital to an NFC North title claim, a guaranteed top-four playoff seed and at least one home postseason game. Losses could turn a dream season into a nightmare, as division record can be an important tiebreaker in determining a wild-card playoff spot, if needed.
With all that in mind, here are the latest NFC playoff standings after Sunday’s NFL Week 12 schedule finished, with the 49ers-Carolina Panthers game on deck Monday night.
NFC playoff standings
- x-Los Angeles Rams (9-2)
- x-Philadelphia Eagles (8-3)
- x-Chicago Bears (8-3)
- x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5)
- Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
- Green Bay Packers (7-3-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
x-division leaders
———————— - Detroit Lions (7-4)
- Carolina Panthers (6-5)
- Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-7)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-8)
- Washington Commanders (3-8)
- New Orleans Saints (2-9)
