The Chicago Bears are officially in control of their fate in the playoffs thanks to some help from the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the Arizona Cardinals by 20 to 12 on Saturday.
There were several playoff scenarios in which the Bears could win the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs, most of them involving the Cardinals slipping in the final weeks.
With Arizona’s defeat on Saturday, Chicago has the opportunity to take control of seventh place with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Someone who was happy to see the Bears’ hopes in the playoff continue to surface was George Kittle, who grew up as a Bears fan in Chicago.
“I grew up as a Bears fan, and the fact that we helped the Bears a little bit makes me a little happier.”
Kittle also added a “Da Bears” before closing the question.
With the Cardinals dropping to 8-7, the Bears’ playoff chances increased to 71%, according to FiveThirtyEight. Those chances increase to 84% if Chicago beat Jacksonville on Sunday.
But Chicago needs to take care of business in the past two weeks, where it will face the Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers.
There is still a scenario in which Bears can guarantee a place in the playoffs with only one victory in their two final games. They would need the Cardinals to lose their Week 17 game against the division’s rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, another team that fights for the playoffs.