The Chicago Bears started their weekend with a decisive 24-15 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. They’re ending it at the top of the conference as the No. 1 seed in the NFC thanks to the Carolina Panthers.
Entering Sunday, the Bears (9-3) were the No. 2 seed in the conference behind the Los Angeles Rams, who had an early game on the East Coast to take on the Panthers. What many believed would be a comfortable victory turned out to be one of the more notable upsets of the season. The two teams exchanged multiple lead changes, but a late Matthew Stafford fumble sealed the deal for the Panthers as they won 31-28, dropping the Rams to 9-3.
While the Bears and Rams share the same record, Chicago has the tiebreaker due to a better conference record and becomes the No. 1 seed in the NFC. It’s the first time the Bears have held the top seed this late in the season since 2006, when they went to the Super Bowl.
There are still five games to go in the season, including three more divisional games, so things can change very quickly. But if the Bears take care of business the rest of the way, the Super Bowl will run through Soldier Field, and Chicago would earn a first-round bye in the postseason.
NFC playoff picture
As of now, the Bears hold the No. 1 seed, with the Rams dropping to the No. 2 seed. Behind them are the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lead the NFC East and NFC South divisions, respectively. The Seattle Seahawks are the top wild card team, followed by the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vault to top seed in the NFC following Rams loss
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