The Chicago Bears have won their first NFC North division title in seven seasons. They are already well positioned to make a deep run in a wide-open conference playoff race ahead of Super Bowl 60. Here’s a breakdown of their potential seeding fate to end the 2025 NFL regular season, as they prepare to host the Lions in Week 18:
MORE WEEK 18 NFL:
NFL playoff bracket 2026
Here's a look at the current potential initial matchups for this year's playoffs:
Bears playoff picture
The Bears are No. 2, two games behind the Seahawks and hold the head-to-head victory tiebreaker over the No. 3 Eagles. They cannot catch the Seahawks for No. 1, but they can fall behind the Eagles to No. 3, ahead of the No. 4 NFC South champions.
Chicago made sure it couldn’t be caught in the division ahead of Week 18 and now are facing a potential "three-game" series with its long-time division archrivals based on the current initial playoff matchups.
| Seed | Team | Record |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks* | 14-3 |
| 2 | Chicago Bears* | 11-5 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Eagles* | 11-5 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-9 |
| 5 | San Francisco 49ers* | 12-5 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams* | 11-5 |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers* | 9-6-1 |
| 8 | Minnesota Vikings - eliminated | 8-8 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions - eliminated | 8-8 |
| 10 | Dallas Cowboys - eliminated | 7-8-1 |
| 11 | Carolina Panthers | 8-9 |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons - eliminated | 7-9 |
| 13 | New Orleans Saints - eliminated | 6-10 |
| 14 | Washington Commanders - eliminated | 4-12 |
| 15 | Arizona Cardinals - eliminated | 3-13 |
| 16 | New York Giants - eliminated | 3-13 |
*=clinched playoff spot
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NFC North standings
The Bears won the division over the Packers because of their rally to beat the Packers in Week 16. The Lions and Vikings will battle those respective teams to try to get out of a tie for last place:
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Chicago Bears | 11-5 |
| 2 | Green Bay Packers | 9-6-1 |
| 3 | Minnesota Vikings - eliminated | 8-8 |
| 4 | Detroit Lions - eliminated | 8-8 |
Bears clinching scenarios
The Bears will lock down the No. 2 seed with a win over the Lions on Sunday to improve to 12-5. They also can clinch if the Eagles lose at home to the Commanders. If the Bears lose to finish 11-6, they would fall to No. 3 if the Eagles win or tie the Commanders to improve to 12-5.