Whom do the Bears play next if they beat the Packers in the playoffs? They won’t find out until Sunday night

If the Bears beat the Packers on Saturday, they won’t know their opponent for the divisional round until Sunday night after the 49ers and Eagles play.

The top-seeded Seahawks have a first-round bye and will host a divisional round game, and as the No. 2 seed, the Bears also would host if they advance. As the No. 1 seed, the Seahawks would draw the lowest-seeded team remaining, while the Bears would play the other advancing team.

Here are the NFC games:

No. 2 Bears vs. No. 7 Packers
No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 49ers
No. 4 Panthers vs. No. 5 Rams

For second-round matchups, everything hinges on the Eagles-49ers game. If the Eagles win, they automatically face the Bears. If the 49ers win, they automatically face the Seahawks.

So if the Bears advance, that’s the game that determines who they play next, and if the 49ers win to move on to the Seahawks, the Bears would face the winner of the Panthers-Rams game.

That means the Eagles, Panthers and Rams are the only teams the Bears could play in the divisional round. They beat the Eagles this season, but didn’t play the other two.

Odunze missed the final five games of the regular season with a stress fracture in his foot, but got the green light for the wild-card game Saturday.
There’s a limited selection of opponents they could face if they advance to the divisional round, but it’s not straightforward because the NFL reseeds after each round.
The Bears are wearing a navy jersey over navy pants for their playoff game Saturday.

Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.