The Chicago Bears may not have had it easy, but they got the job done against the San Francisco 49ers. They took home a 14-9 win, giving them their 11th victory of 2018. Matt Nagy now stands alone in team history with the most wins ever for a rookie head coach. Impressive stuff. As things stand one would think they no longer have anything to play for.
The win means the Bears can’t have more than five losses this season and it locks them into the #3 seed since the Dallas Cowboys officially grabbed the #4 spot with a win on Sunday to clinch the NFC East. This guarantees the Bears a home game in at least their first playoff appearance. However, that’s not all.
Some people may urge them to simply rest their starters in Minnesota given there isn’t much left to think about. Except that’s not true at all. There is plenty at stake for the Bears next Sunday thanks it large part to one of their biggest victories of the season that took place a few weeks back.
Chicago Bears still have a shot at stealing a first round bye
Beating the Los Angeles Rams proved to have far more significance than people realized. Suddenly the Bears find themselves in control of a potential tiebreaker. If they beat Minnesota next Sunday and the Rams falter in their own finale against the 49ers, the two teams would end up with an identical 12-4 record. This means that victory on Sunday Night Football would propel the Bears to the #2 seed.
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This would afford them a week off to start the postseason with a guaranteed home game and much better odds of another were they to advance to the NFC championship. It’s worth mentioning that the Bears have never advanced to a Super Bowl without a top seed going into the playoffs. So it’s safe to say they have plenty on the line.
Don’t expect the hyper-competitive Nagy to play it passive. He’ll go for the knockout in Minnesota with both eyes on the game and none on the scoreboard watching the Rams score. The Vikings may have the edge at home and more motivation fighting for their playoff lives, but don’t expect these Bears to make it easy for them.
