The NFL announced that the Bears will host the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wildcard round of the playoffs at 3:40 p.m. (CT) next Sunday at Soldier Field.
Winners of the NFC North, the Bears (12-4) will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the NFC. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (9-7) supplanted the Vikings (8-7-1) as the second wildcard and No. 6 seed with a 24-0 road win over the Redskins Sunday coupled with Minnesota's 24-10 loss to the Bears.
Coach Matt Nagy is very familiar with Eagles counterpart Doug Pederson. The two worked together as assistants under coach Andy Reid with the Eagles (2009-12) and Chiefs (2013-15).
"We spent many hours together, so we know each other really well," Nagy said. "It's a mutual friendship that we have, mutual respect. He's a competitor, he wants to win. Same with us. It will be a great challenge."
The other NFC wildcard game next weekend between the fifth-seeded Seahawks (10-6) and fourth-seeded Cowboys (10-6) in Dallas will kick off at 7:15 p.m. (CT) Saturday.
With a win over the Eagles, the Bears would advance to the divisional round and visit the second-seeded Rams (13-3) in Los Angeles at 7:15 p.m. (CT) Saturday, Jan. 12. The Bears defeated the Rams 15-6 Dec. 9 on Sunday Night Football at Soldier Field.
The Saints (13-3) are the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
