The Chicago Bears’ NFL playoff picture looks like this: They’re 7-3 and would be NFC North champions if the 2025 season ended today.
While Bears fans are drinking that in, Ben Johnson knows the hard work isn’t done, with seven regular-season games to play.
“We’re mid-season right now. So, we’re not even looking at that,” the Bears’ head coach said Sunday after a 19-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings. “We’ve earned seven wins so far, and we’re really looking looking for the opportunity to go 1-0 next week.”
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Johnson surely recognizes that just one or two losses quickly can change the Bears’ playoff picture. They’re just one win ahead of the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers in the NFC standings, yet both of those teams would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today. So, the Bears’ task remains at hand, starting with next Sunday’s home meeting with the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bears’ schedule doesn’t become much easier after that, with the Philadelphia Eagles (Nov. 28), Green Bay Packers (Dec. 7 and Dec. 20), San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 28) and Lions (Jan. 3 or Jan. 4). Only a Dec. 14 home game against the woeful Cleveland Browns might offer a respite, but anything can happen in the NFL.
But, for now, the Bears are the NFC’s No. 3 seed, which would mean a wild-card round home game against the Packers. The storylines would abound.
Here are the latest NFC playoff standings with Sunday’s NFL Week 11 schedule complete, with the Dallas Cowboys-Las Vegas Raiders game on deck Monday night.
NFC playoff standingsx-Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)x-Los Angeles Rams (8-2)x-Chicago Bears (7-3)x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4)Seattle Seahawks (7-3)Green Bay Packers (6-3-1)San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
x-division leaderDetroit Lions (6-4)Carolina Panthers (6-5)Minnesota Vikings (4-6)Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1)Arizona Cardinals (3-7)Atlanta Falcons (3-7)Washington Commanders (3-8)New Orleans Saints (2-8)New York Giants (2-9)