The Chicago Bears are officially in control of their playoff destiny thanks to some help from the San Francisco 49ers, who delivered a 20-12 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.
There have been several playoff scenarios where the Bears could lock up that seventh seed in the NFC playoffs, most of them involving the Cardinals slipping up over the final weeks.
With Arizona’s loss on Saturday, Chicago has an opportunity to take control of that seventh spot with a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Someone that was happy to see the Bears’ playoff hopes remain afloat was 49ers tight end George Kittle, who grew up as a Bears fan in Chicago.
“I did grow up a Bears fan, and the fact that we helped the Bears a little bit just makes me a little happier.”
Kittle also added a “Da Bears” before wrapping the question.
#MerryChristmas @ChicagoBears 😏
Da People’s Tight End | @gkittle46 pic.twitter.com/z0myz7cQ9u
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 27, 2020
With the Cardinals dropping to 8-7, the Bears’ playoff chances increased to 71%, according to FiveThirtyEight. Those odds increase to 84% if Chicago beats Jacksonville on Sunday.
But Chicago needs to take care of business over the last two weeks, where they’ll face the Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers.
There is still a scenario where the Bears can secure a playoff berth with just one win in their final two games. They’d need the Cardinals to lose their Week 17 game against division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, another team fighting for the playoffs.