The Chicago Bears are heading to the NFL playoffs in their inaugural season with new head coach Ben Johnson. The wild-card playoff appearance will mark the Bears’ first time in the postseason since 2020, and the game will see Chicago going up against the Green Bay Packers at home.
So, the No. 2 seed Chicago Bears will take on their NFC North rivals, the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers at home in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. The game will take place on Saturday, January 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The seeding follows the Bears’ unexpected loss to the Detroit Lions at home. Johnson and the Bears lost that game with a 19-16 final score, and even though Chicago was already playoff-bound, it stung to lose to the Lions twice during the 2025-26 season.
So, what was the impact did losing to the Lions have on the Bear’s playoff run? Actually, it meant literally nothing.
Chicago Bears Seeding Following Loss to Detroit Lions
As it turns out, losing to the Lions didn’t do a thing to the Chicago Bears for their postseason wishes. That’s obviously good news.
The Bears’ loss to the Lions on January 4 didn’t hurt their playoff seeding, according to NFL research, and they still snagged the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs because the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Washington Commanders in their game. So, the Bears will still host the Packers in the wild-card round, just as they would have if they had beaten the Lions.
But, Johnson was still unhappy with his team, despite it being meaningless loss. “I was not pleased with the offense today,” Johnson told reporters after the game. “We can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that. I was disappointed with the offense as a whole. I let those guys know that. And we’ll be better for it.”
Johnson added, “That’s one we’ll have to take a look at the tape and figure out why that was. I didn’t feel like it was one of our more elaborate plans. I felt it was one of our simpler plans. We need to do a better job of executing it and coaching it up.”
More Chicago Bears Playoff Discussion
Looking beyond the Chicago Bears, some of the major results from Week 18 include the Seattle Seahawks‘ position in the NFC, securing the No. 1 seed on Saturday, January 3, with their win over the San Francisco 49ers in the regular season finale. In the AFC, the Denver Broncos scored the top seed.
The first game in the wild-card round, in Eastern time, begins on January 10 at 4:30 p.m. That date will also bring an 8 p.m. game. On January 11, expect three games: one at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. On January 12, there will be one game, at 8:15 p.m.
Next up is the divisional round, which starts on January 17. There, the NFL will host two games, one at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 8:15 p.m. On January 18, games will take place at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The AFC Championship will take place on January 25 at 3 p.m., and the NFC Championship is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Super Bowl will take place on February 8 at 6:30 p.m. on NBC.
Chicago Bears’ Loss to Lions Isn’t Really Bad News at All