Week 14's game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers lived up to the hype, but the Bears were unfortunately on the losing end.
Falling 28-21, Chicago had a chance to win the game at the end, but Caleb Williams threw an interception on a play that had the potential to be a touchdown. Now, the Packers sit atop the NFC North at 9-3-1, and the Bears are in position to be a wild card team at 9-4.
The good news for Chicago is that there are four weeks left in the season. That means this tight NFC North race is far from being over. In addition to the Bears and Packers fighting for the crown, the 8-5 Detroit Lions are also lurking. For Chicago, the path to NFC North supremacy is simple: win out.
Bears have a simple path to NFC North title
Chicago can still win the division without winning out, but that would mean relying on Green Bay and Detroit stumbling down the stretch. Teams never want to put their fate in other teams’ hands, and fortunately, the Bears don’t have to. The reason is that they have another meeting with the Packers in Week 16.
If Green Bay wins every remaining game, except the one against Chicago, they’d finish the regular season with a 12-4-1 record. If the Bears win their final four games, they would be 13-4. That would be enough for them to leap back ahead of the Packers and hold off the Lions. So while the Week 14 game at Lambeau was important, the stakes will be even higher when the teams meet again at Soldier Field in a couple of weeks.
Winning down the stretch won’t be easy for Chicago. The Bears will host the Cleveland Browns in Week 15, and that’s their easiest remaining game. Even still, the 3-10 Browns have one of the best defenses in the league, and a talented rookie quarterback in Shedeur Sanders, coming off a historic performance. Additionally, it’s the NFL, so no game is a gimme.
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If the Bears can get through Cleveland as they should, they will then need wins against the Packers, the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers, and the Lions, in that order. It’s not an easy lineup of opponents, but easy won’t get Chicago where it’s trying to go. If the Bears can come out of the final four-game stretch unscathed, they could be the top seed in the NFC.