The Chicago Bears now control their playoff destiny

It’s hard to believe that when the Chicago Bears lost six straight games that they’d even be in the discussion involving the playoffs. Now, the Bears are in firm control of their own fate heading into the final two games.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-12 to drop the Cardinals to 8-7. Which means the Bears can lock up that seventh seed with two wins to close out the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers.

Arizona’s loss boosted the Bears’ playoff odds to 71%, according to FiveThirtyEight. Those odds increase to 84% if Chicago beats Jacksonville on Sunday.

Believe it or not, there’s still a scenario where the Bears can clinch that seventh seed by winning just one of their final two games. If Arizona loses to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17, Chicago would only need to win one more game to make the postseason, as the Bears own the tiebreaker over the Cardinals.

While the 49ers gave the Bears a late Christmas gift — despite former Bears kicker Robbie Gould missing two field goals and one extra point — Chicago still needs to take of business.

That starts Sunday against the Jaguars, where the Bears will be looking to win their third straight game after losing six straight games after starting 5-1. Chicago’s offense will be looking to score 30 points for the fourth straight game, which is likely against a Jaguars team that has lost 13 straight games.

Strap in, Bears fans. Things just got interesting.

List

5 games to watch with playoff implications for Bears in Week 16

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