Despite the Week 18 loss, the Bears still lock up the NFC's second seed

The Bears Week 18 loss against Detroit might've hurt the morale, but it didn't hurt their position in the NFC playoff picture.

Nov 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks with Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson after the game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson will have to wait a bit longer to get some retribution for the 31-point Week Two loss against his former team. The Bears fell flat in their Week 18 matchup against the divisional rival Lions, who came away with a 19-16 win at Soldier Field. Detroit completely controlled the tempo of the game in the first half before the Bears made it interesting with their patented late-game heroics.

However, with some help from the Washington Commanders, they will still be the NFC's second seed thanks to having a tiebreaker over Philadelphia. Both the Bears and Eagles, who lost 24-17 against their rivals today, currently sit at 11-6.

The NFC playoff picture is set:

Wild Card Weekend:
- Packers @ Bears
- 49ers @ Eagles
- Rams @ Panthers

Bye: Seattle Seahawks pic.twitter.com/LeeVZFIi5t

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 5, 2026

The Bears were not only vying for the second seed so they'd get another home game if they face the Eagles down the road, but they would also get another matchup against the Packers in the process.

While Green Bay is far from a pushover, the Bears definitely have the easiest draw of the Wild Card round. The Packers suffered an embarrassing loss of their own today, albeit with many of their starters getting the week off with them having nothing to play for. The Vikings took their lunch money with a 16-3 win. It would've been a shutout if the Packers hadn't kicked a shameless field goal as time expired (which tells you that they at least somewhat value momentum).

Speaking of momentum, the Packers don't have much of it. They're limping into the playoffs, both literally and figuratively. They haven't been the same since Micah Parsons went down with a torn ACL in Week 15. Outside of the Panthers being the de facto NFC South winner, they're the least imposing playoff team of the bunch right now.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have a home matchup with San Francisco on the horizon. They were one of the league's hottest teams before coming out flat against Seattle's dominant defense yesterday. They're still one of the most talented teams in the league, and the Bears certainly had no answer for their offensive attack last week.

While I think Chicago would fare better against San Francisco at Soldier Field as opposed to in Santa Clara, that's still not an easy matchup by any means for the Bears. Due to them being the sixth seed, we wouldn't see that matchup until the NFC Championship if both teams can make it that far, though.

Many view the Bears' Week 13 win over Philadelphia as the moment that they arrived. That win also just became exponentially more valuable in hindsight.

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