Eagles benching stars against Commanders. This decision dramatically reshapes playoff seeding for Bears, Lions, and Packers.
Head coach Ben Johnson made the decision to not sit his starters in Week 18.
The Chicago Bears take on the Detroit Lions with the No. 2 seed still hanging in the balance. Chicago is the No. 2 seed heading into the matchup, but could fall to the No. 3 seed.
Playoff matchups are on the line, too. The Bears will face the Green Bay Packers with a win on Sunday, or a Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Washington Commanders. However, it sounds like the Eagles may be sitting most of their starters for the game.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane reported that the Eagles plan to sit Jalen Hurts and a majority of their starting lineup for Sunday. Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about it and declined to confirm or deny the move, saying he wants to address the team in a later meeting.
Philadelphia is currently the No. 3 seed after beating the Commanders in Week 17 to clinch the NFC East title.
This could be huge for Chicago, as facing Green Bay in the first round would be the best-case scenario. If the Commanders beat the Eagles, then it won't matter if the Bears lose to the Lions.
The Packers are dealing with quarterback injuries heading into the final week of the regular season. Jordan Love missed the last game against the Baltimore Ravens with a concussion, and backup quarterback Malik Willis suffered a shoulder injury and had to exit.
However, if the Bears lose and the Eagles win, they will fall to the No. 3 seed and have a chance at playing either the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams and 49ers are definitely not who you want to face. Bears fans saw just how scary the 49ers' offense can be on Sunday Night Football.
Then, with Los Angeles, there is trying to find a way to slow down receiver Puka Nacua. Nacua has 620 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his last four games.
There's a revenge factor in Chicago's upcoming game against Detroit. The Bears faced the Lions in Week 2, which was head coach Ben Johnson's first game back since his days as the offensive coordinator.
The Lions welcomed him back with a 52-21 loss at Ford Field. Johnson would love nothing more than to avenge that earlier loss with a win to close the regular season.
Kickoff from Soldier Field is at 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.