Bears claim the No. 1 seed! Discover how key wins and surprising upsets reshaped the NFC playoff picture, igniting the race for top spots.
The NFC playoff picture has changed since the Chicago Bears' 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Following the 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, the Bears improved to 8-3 but remained the No. 3 seed in the NFC.
The Philadelphia Eagles held the No. 1 seed, with the Los Angeles Rams at No. 2. However, the Eagles lost 24-21 to the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles and Rams then traded places with the loss.
The Rams then beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-7 on Sunday Night Football, taking the top spot from the Eagles.
Chicago and Philadelphia faced off on Friday, with playoff implications at stake. The Bears won 24-15 and moved into the No. 2 seed.
Before Sunday's games, the Rams (9-2) still held the No. 1 seed. The Buccaneers (6-5) are No. 4, followed by the Seattle Seahawks (8-3), Green Bay Packers (8-3-1) and San Francisco 49ers (8-4) in that order.
Teams that were on the bubble included the Detroit Lions (7-5), Cowboys (6-5-1), Carolina Panthers (6-6), Atlanta Falcons (4-7), Minnesota Vikings (4-7), Arizona Cardinals (3-8), Washington Commanders (3-8) and New Orleans Saints (2-9).
Things shook up at the top again, as the Rams lost 31-28 to the Panthers, giving the Bears the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Even after Seattle beat Minnesota, Chicago still holds the top spot in the NFC based on its conference record. The Bears are 6-2, while the Seahawks are 5-3.
After the Buccaneers beat the Cardinals 17-10, they improved to 7-5. Seattle remains the No. 5 seed, since it and Tampa Bay have the same conference record at 5-3.
Even though the 49ers beat the Browns, they didn't move past the Packers and are still the No. 7 seed.
Up next for the Bears is a massive divisional contest with the Packers. Green Bay is currently second in the NFC North and would love to reclaim the division lead.
The Packers were first in the division for a while, but fell out of the top spot after a 10-7 loss to the Eagles. The Lions were then No. 1 in the NFC North before they lost 16-9 to the Eagles in Week 11, giving the division to the Bears.
The remaining schedule for the Bears includes two games with the Packers on Dec. 7 and Dec. 20, as well as the Browns (Dec. 14), 49ers (Dec. 28) and Lions. The date for the Lions game is still up in the air as it could be flexed.