The Chicago Bears made easy work of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and now the real fun — or stress, depending how you look at it — begins.
The Bears’ 31-3 drubbing of the hapless Browns at Soldier Field, coupled with the Green Bay Packers’ 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos, put Chicago back atop the NFC North with a 10-4 record. That means if the season ended today, the Bears would be the NFC’s No. 2 seed and would host those Packers in a wild-card round game.
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But the season doesn’t end today. In fact, three pivotal weeks remain for the Bears, who are scheduled to face an NFC playoff contender each time.
It starts Saturday with a home game against the Packers, who defeated the Bears in a tight Week 14 contest. The Bears then will visit the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers, who currently own the NFC’s No. 6 playoff seed, on Dec. 28 before returning to host the 8-6 Detroit Lions in a potential winner-take-all game on Jan. 3 or Jan. 4.
The Bears believe 11 wins will be enough for an NFC playoff spot, but three wins against three tough opponents could make them the No. 1 seed at 13-4. Two wins, particularly against the NFC North rival Packers and Lions, most likely would mean a division title and a top-four seed. Two or three losses, however, could end Chicago’s playoff dreams in what would be a cruel end to head coach Ben Johnson’s full-of-progress first season.
So, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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Here are the NFC playoff standings entering Week 16, with Sunday night’s Dallas Cowboys-Minnesota Vikings result outstanding:
NFC playoff standings
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x-Philadelphia Eagles (9-5)
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x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
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San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
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Green Bay Packers (9-4-1)
x-division leader
y-clinched playoff spot
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Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1)
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Eliminated from contention: Minnesota Vikings (5-8), Atlanta Falcons (5-9), Washington Commanders (4-10), New Orleans Saints (4-10), Arizona Cardinals (3-11), New York Giants (2-12)
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The post NFL playoff picture 2025: Updated NFC standings after Bears’ Week 15 win appeared first on Marquee Sports Network – Home of the Cubs, Bears, Red Stars and Sky.
