The Bears not only will make the playoffs in Ben Johnson's first season as coach, but they will enter the postseason as NFC North champions.
One week after they clinched a playoff berth, the Bears (11-4) captured their first division title since 2018 Saturday night when Green Bay (9-6-1) lost to the Ravens 41-24 at Lambeau Field.
That result assures the Bears of being either the No. 1, 2 or 3 seed in the NFC playoffs. They are currently second behind Seattle (12-3) and ahead of Philadelphia (10-5). They would move into the No. 1 spot with a win in San Francisco Sunday night coupled with a Seattle loss at Carolina earlier in the day. They would also clinch at least the No. 2 seed with a victory over the 49ers or an Eagles loss at Buffalo Sunday.
In Johnson's first season as coach, the Bears have won nine of 11 games since an 0-2 start, including seven of their last eight. They've recorded six victories after trailing in the final 2:00 of regulation, the most in the NFL this year and the most in franchise history. In addition, they're 6-1 in games decided by five points or fewer after going 1-6 in those contests last year.
Their offense ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring (10th at 25.8 points per game) and total yards (5th at 371.5) after finishing in the bottom five in both categories last season when the Bears went 5-12. They've also reduced the number of sacks they've allowed from 4.0 per game in 2024 to 1.5 in 2025.
Their defense leads the league with 31 takeaways and 21 interceptions and their offense has committed only 10 turnovers, giving the Bears an NFL-best plus-21 turnover differential.
After visiting the 49ers, the Bears will close the regular season next weekend versus the Lions at Soldier Field. Detroit was eliminated from the playoffs Thursday with a loss at Minnesota.
For more information, visit ChicagoBears.com/Playoffs.
