As the Chicago Bears put it, the stage is set — and the stakes are high.
After capturing the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Bears will host the No. 7 Green Bay Packers in a Wild Card matchup Saturday night at Soldier Field.
According to an NFL announcement Sunday night, the Bears’ Wild Card Weekend game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, and will stream on Prime Video. Earlier in the day, the opening round of the playoffs begins at 3:30 p.m. CT, with the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at the No. 4 North Carolina Panthers.
The Bears and Packers have faced off more than 200 times in their history, but only two of those games have come in the playoffs. The first was in 1941 when the Bears defeated the Packers 33-14 to advance to the NFL Championship Game, which they won over the New York Giants the following week.
The teams didn’t meet again in the playoffs until 70 years later. The Packers came out on top that time, winning the 2011 NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field to advance to the Super Bowl.
If the Bears win against the Packers on Saturday, they would host a divisional round game at Soldier Field with their opponent yet to be determined. The lowest-seeded team remaining in the playoffs would take on the Seattle Seahawks, with the other squad heading to Chicago to face the Bears.
Here’s a breakdown of how the NFL Playoffs work, seeding, latest schedule and more.
How the NFL Playoffs work
Seven teams from each conference make the playoffs. The four division winners in each conference are ranked No. 1 to No. 4 by regular-season record followed by the three wild-card teams ranked by regular-season record.
Which teams made the NFL Playoffs? Full NFL playoff seeding
AFC
- Denver Broncos (AFC West champions, top seed)
- New England Patriots (AFC East champions)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South champions)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North champions)
- Houston Texans (wild card)
- Buffalo Bills (wild card)
- Los Angeles Chargers (wild card)
NFC
- Seattle Seahawks (NFC West champions, No. 1 seed)
- Chicago Bears (NFC North champions)
- Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East champions)
- Carolina Panthers (NFC South champions)
- Los Angeles Rams (wild card)
- San Francisco 49ers (wild card)
- Green Bay Packers (wild card)
Who gets a bye?
The top seed in each conference gets a bye to the Divisional Round. In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks secured the top seed on Saturday with a 13-3 win over the 49ers.
The Broncos clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Sunday with a win over the Chargers.
When do the NFL playoffs start?
The NFL postseason opens with Super Wild Card Weekend starting Saturday, Jan. 10, through Monday, Jan. 12. There will be two Saturday games — including the Bears vs. Packers — followed by three Sunday games and one Monday game.
Here’s a breakdown of what days the games take place:
- Wild Card Round Weekend: Saturday, Jan. 10 – Monday, Jan. 12, 2026
- Divisional Round Weekend: Saturday, Jan. 17 – Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026
- NFC/AFC Championship Games: Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026
Full NFL playoff schedule
The full NFL Playoff schedule can be found here.
When is the Super Bowl 2026?
The AFC and NFC champions will square off in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8. Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
