The Chicago Bears are firmly in control of their destination in the playoffs towards the final week of the regular season. If Chicago wins in Week 17, they will do the postseason for the first time since 2018.
But it won’t be an easy task, especially with the Bears welcoming the excited Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field, where Chicago must win to secure a post-season spot. It will be the Bears or the Arizona Cardinals – possibly both – who will make the postseason when the final week of the regular season is over.
Here are three scenarios that need to happen for Bears to secure a playoff spot in Week 17.
Scenario # 1: The Bears beat the Packers
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Result: bears conquer seed number 6 or number 7
It’s pretty simple – if the Bears win, they’re in. Although a win could put Chicago in the sixth or seventh seed, depending on how things are going to happen next Sunday. But, as Bears fans know, nothing was easy with this team. And it gets even more complicated when it involves the Packers, a team that has had the Chicago number for almost a decade. The Bears cannot allow the Packers to win this game in the first quarter, as in the previous meeting four weeks ago. If Chicago wants to make the playoffs, they need to solve the problem with their own hands. And that means getting the final defeat against your Goliath.
Scenario 2: Bears lose to Packers and Cardinals lose to Rams
Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic
Result: the bears conquer seed number 7
Chicago may still make it into the postseason if they lose next Sunday to Green Bay, but it is not ideal to leave your destiny in the hands of another team. Especially one that could be without its starting quarterback. If the Los Angeles Rams find a way to defeat the Cardinals, the Bears will still make it to the playoffs with a loss to the Packers. This seems to be the most realistic scenario of the three, considering Chicago’s fights against Green Bay. But with Rams quarterback Jared Goff, potentially removed from the pitch with a broken thumb, it is not a favorable situation for the Bears.
Scenario # 3: The Bears beat the Packers and the Cardinals beat the Rams
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Result: the bears conquer seed number 6
Believe it or not, there is a scenario where Chicago could end up with seed # 6 on the NFC. But if the Bears manage to beat the Packers and the Cardinals beat the Rams next Sunday, Chicago will take sixth place, with Arizona taking seventh place and the Rams being eliminated from the playoff.