Bears have their ticket to the postseason officially punched in the most bizarre way possible while enjoying the day off on Sunday
Chicago is headed to the postseason.
As if Saturday night’s win over the Green Bay Packers wasn’t wild enough for the Chicago Bears, things got even wilder on Sunday but Chicago ultimately got the outcome they were hoping for.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Detroit Lions, the Bears have officially clinched playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Another nerve-racking finish with major implications for the Bears
After taking down the Packers in overtime on a walk-off touchdown from quarterback Caleb Williams to wide receiver DJ Moore, multiple Bears players noted they will be TV watching on Sunday and rooting for a former bitter rival in Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to take down the Lions.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the final quarter, the Steelers extended the lead to 29-17 and seemingly wrapped things up. But, the Lions scored on the following drive to make it 29-24 and then got the ball back after a missed field goal by Steelers kicker Chris Boswell.
Detroit’s offense marched down the field and got some favorable calls, but the penalties turned the other way. On the final play of the game, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was called for an offensive pass interference but before the whistle was blown, St. Brown tossed the ball back to quarterback Jared Goff, who then dove into the end zone. Yet, the penalty negated the score and with no time on the clock, the game was over.
Eyes on winning the NFC North, and potentially even securing the top seed in the conference
Now that the Bears are officially in the dance, the next order of business is locking up the NFC North title. Chicago holds a 1.5 game lead over the Packers after Saturday’s win with two games left to be played. Which means, it only takes one win or one Packers loss for Chicago to reclaim the North.
And as insane as it sounds, the No. 1 seed in the NFC is still on the table as well. If Chicago can win out over the final two weeks and the Seattle Seahawks drop at least one of their final two, the Bears will be the top seed in the conference, which comes with a first-round bye and home field advantage through the entire playoffs.
“We’re going to keep working. We’re going to keep striving for wins,” Williams said on Saturday. “We’re going to keep striving for being the top team in this league, and we’re going to keep fighting until that clock says zero. From there, we’ll look up and see who wins.”
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The walk-off TD to DJ Moore felt like a true miracle for the Chicago Bears.
