Now that the Chicago Bears are in the playoffs, how can they clinch the NFC North?

It’s now official, as the Detroit Lions’ Sunday loss has clinched a playoff spot for the Chicago Bears.

The Bears will be playoff-bound for the first time since the 2020 season, but there is still plenty of work to be done, as the Bears will be looking to secure their first NFC North division title for the first time since the 2018 campaign.

Here’s where things stand, and what lies ahead for the Bears as they look to secure a division title, or perhaps even a top seed in the NFC.

The Current Standings

After Sunday’s games, here is how the NFC standings stack up.

1 x – Seattle Seahawks 12-3

2 x – Chicago Bears 11-4

3 y – Philadelphia Eagles 10-5

4 Carolina Panthers 8-7

5 x – Los Angeles Rams 11-4

6 x – San Francisco 49ers 10-4

7 Green Bay Packers 9-5-1

8 Detroit Lions 8-7

9 e – Minnesota Vikings 7-8

10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-8

X = Clinched playoff spot

Y = Clinched vision title

E = Eliminated from playoff contention

What Lies Ahead

The Lions’ loss not only clinched a playoff spot for the Bears, but also sealed a playoff spot for the 49ers, who are guaranteed to win a tiebreak over the Lions based on conference record.

That leaves just two playoff spots to be decided in the final two weeks of the regular season, with the 49ers still hoping against hope that they can battle for the top spot in the NFC West with the Seahawks and Rams.

The Panthers took the lead in the NFC South over the Buccaneers with their win on Sunday, but the two teams are set to play again in Week 18, so it’s entirely possible that division title could come down to the final week of the year.

Finally, the Bears are within striking distance of the NFC North crown, but they have a bit of work left to do.

How the Bears can clinch a division title

All the Bears will have to do in the final two weeks of the season is to beat either the 49ers or the Lions, and they would win their first division title in seven seasons.

A Packers loss to either the Baltimore Ravens or the Minnesota Vikings would also take care of that for Chicago.

Who the Bears could play in the postseason

The most likely scenario for the Bears is that they would end up playing a wild card team in the first round of the postseason, hosting a game at Soldier Field in that scenario.

If that ends up happening, they would end up playing either the third-place finisher in the NFC West, which could be the Seahawks, Rams or 49ers, or the second-place team in the NFC North, which would be either the Packers or the Lions.

If the Bears win one more game, they would be guaranteed to finish no worse than second in the NFC, since they own a tiebreaker over the Eagles.

If the Bears were to lose the NFC North title, they would in all likelihood be stuck playing the Packers or the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

The Bears still have an outside shot at the top spot in the NFC, in which case they’d have a first-round bye and they would play the lowest-seeded team in the divisional round.