The Lions are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The Bears are fighting for the NFC No. 2 seed. But that’s not what it looks like so far today in Chicago.
Detroit has absolutely dominated, taking a 13-0 lead and out-gaining the Bears 202 yards to 30.
With 4:40 left in the second quarter, Lions quarterback Jared Goff has 170 passing yards. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has 15 passing yards.
There’s still plenty of football to play, and even if the Bears lose they can earn the No. 2 seed if the Eagles also lose. But right now the Bears aren’t looking like a team that’s ready to go on a run in the playoffs.
It’s the final day of the regular season, and the playoff field is almost set, as 12 teams have clinched playoff berths and the Seahawks have clinched the top seed in the NFC. But much else remains in flux. Here’s a list of the teams remaining in contention for each playoff seed, and how they can earn those seeds.
NFC
1. Seahawks. The Seahawks get the No. 1 seed, a first-round by and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs after beating the 49ers on Saturday night.
2. Bears or Eagles. If the Bears win or the Eagles lose, the Bears are the No. 2 seed. If the Bears lose and the Eagles win, the Eagles are the No. 2 seed.
3. Eagles or Bears. The team that doesn’t get the No. 2 seed gets the No. 3 seed. The Eagles are resting their starters and effectively conceding the No. 2 seed to the Bears and preparing to be the No. 3 seed.
4. Panthers or Buccaneers. If the Falcons win today, the Panthers win are the No. 4 seed. If the Falcons lose or tie today, the Buccaneers are the No. 4 seed.
5. 49ers or Rams. If the Rams lose or tie today, the 49ers are the No. 5 seed. If the Rams win today, the Rams are the No. 5 seed.
6. Rams or 49ers. If the Rams lose or tie today, the Rams are the No. 6 seed. If the Rams win, the 49ers are the No. 6 seed.
7. Packers. The Packers are the No. 7 seed in the NFC and will open the playoffs on the road against the No. 2 seed, regardless of anything that happens in Week 18.
AFC
1. Broncos or Patriots or Jaguars. If the Broncos win or the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Broncos are the No. 1 seed.
If the Patriots win and the Broncos lose, the Patriots are the No. 1 seed.
If the Jaguars win and the Broncos and Patriots both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 1 seed.
2. Patriots or Broncos or Jaguars. If the Patriots and Broncos both win, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos win and the Jaguars lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed regardless of what the Patriots do.
If the Broncos lose, the Patriots win and the Jaguars lose, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos lose, the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed.
If the Jaguars win, the Broncos lose and the Patriots win, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed. If the Jaguars win, the Broncos win and the Patriots lose, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed.
3. Jaguars or Broncos or Patriots or Texans. If the Jaguars, Broncos and Patriots all win, or the Jaguars tie, thie Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Jaguars and Texans both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Broncos win, the Patriots win and the Texans lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed regardless of what the Jaguars do.
If the Broncos lose and Patriots and Jaguars both win, the Broncos are the No. 3 seed.
If the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Patriots are the No. 3 seed.
If the Texans win and the Jaguars lose, the Texans are the No. 3 seed.
4. Steelers or Ravens. If the Steelers beat or tie the Ravens on Sunday Night Football, the Steelers are the No. 4 seed. If the Ravens win, the Ravens are the No. 4 seed.
5. Texans or Jaguars or Chargers or Bills. If the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Texans, Chargers and Bills all lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Jaguars win and the Chargers and Bills lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed regardless of what the Texans do.
If the Jaguars lose, the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Jaguars are the No. 5 seed. (There are also scenarios that see the Jaguars as the 5 seed based on the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Chargers.)
If the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Chargers are the No. 5 seed. If the Chargers win and the Jaguars lose, the Chargers could also get the No. 5 seed based on clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and either the Texans or Jaguars lose, the Bills are the No. 5 seed.
6. Chargers or Jaguars or Texans or Bills. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Chargers and Bills both lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed regardless of what the Chargers do.
If the Jaguars and Chargers both lose, and the Texans and Bills both win, the Jaguars are the No. 6 seed.
If the Texans lose and either the Bills lose and Chargers win, or the Bills win and Chargers lose, the Texans are the No. 6 seed.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Bills are the No. 6 seed. If the Bills win, the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Bills are the No. 6 seed.
7. Bills or Jaguars or Texans or Chargers. If the Bills lose, the Bills are the No. 7 seed. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Bills are the No. 7 seed regardless of what the Bills do.
If the Jaguars lose and the Texans, Chargers and Bills all win, the Jaguars can be the No. 7 seed if the Chargers clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Texans lose and the Chargers and Bills both win, the Texans are the No. 7 seed.
If the Chargers lose and the Bills win, the Chargers are the No. 7 seed.
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze made it back onto the practice field on Friday.
Odunze has missed the last four games with a foot injury and he was a limited practice participant in his return to action. He is listed as questionable for Chicago’s game against the Lions and said on Friday that he’s hoping to be in the lineup as the team tries to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
“Obviously I want to play, but I’m following their plan, so we’ll see where that leads me on Sunday,” Odunze said, via the team’s website. “It’s still up in the air right now. But I was able to go out there today, felt pretty good. I’m locked into what we’re doing this week, so we’ll see.”
Safety Jaquan Brisker missed practice with an illness on Friday and has been listed as questionable. Left tackle Ozzy Trapilo (knee, quad) and cornerback Nick McCloud (illness) are also in the questionable category. Defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion has been ruled out.
The Lions have fallen quickly in 2025, with quadruple the losses they had in 2024. But as the Lions try to finish the season after going 15-2 with a 9-8 record (and not 8-9), first-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said he doesn’t think it’ll be a heavy lift to get back to where they recently were.
“I understand where we’re at with eight losses and out of playoff contention,” Sheppard said Thursday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But I’m not going to sit up here and say there needs to be a drastic change and this didn’t work, that didn’t work. There were weeks we played at a high level with the exact same system and there was weeks that we didn’t. And after this game, we’ll go back and look at that in totality and find out the real whys behind that.”
Whatever they find, Sheppard believes it won’t require a major overhaul.
“I don’t see drastic change,” Sheppard said. “What I see and what I’ve learned in my first year on the job of calling defenses is something that me and [head coach] Dan [Campbell] talk about every day. You start off the year . . . I wanted to have top defense in this category, top this, top that, top that. And you get caught in these statistical things that means nothing if you’re not winning football games.
“This league is about adaptability and you can have a system all you want, but it’s whatever dictates that week is necessary to win the football game.”
They didn’t win nearly enough. And the defensive performance reflects it.
As noted by Birkett, the Lions are tied for 22nd in points allowed per game, with 24.8. They’re 18th in total defense and 20th in takeaways. In 2024, the Lions finished in the top 10 in scoring, rushing defense, and takeaways.
The biggest takeaway for the Lions in 2025 is that they weren’t good enough. They have the talent, on both sides of the ball. But it didn’t show up often enough. Win or lose on Sunday at the Bears, the Lions have work to do — drastic or otherwise — to get back to where they were a year ago.
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze still isn’t back at practice.
Odunze, who has missed four consecutive games with a foot injury, again was listed as a non-participant on Thursday.
Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III, though, returned to full participation after limited work on Wednesday. Burden injured a quadriceps in last Sunday night’s loss to the 49ers.
Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (illness) also was a full participant after he missed the 49ers game.
The Bears added offensive lineman Jonah Jackson (illness) to the practice report as a non-participant on Thursday.
Edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion) did not practice a second consecutive day.
Defensive back Nick McCloud (illness) and tackle Ozzy Trapilo (knee, quad) remained limited, but defensive back Josh Blackwell (shoulder) returned to full participation a day after being limited.
