With Packers’ loss, Bears clinch first NFC North title since 2018
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Courtney CroninDec 27, 2025, 11:41 PM ET
- Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever and GameNight on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Chicago Bears locked up the NFC North on Saturday night at the conclusion of Green Bay’s 41-24 loss to Baltimore. The Bears earned their first division title since 2018 ahead of their meeting with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night in a game that will help determine the NFC’s top seed.
Within eight days of playing their previous game that resulted in a 22-16 overtime win against Green Bay, the Bears clinched their spot in the postseason after the Lions lost to the Steelers in Week 16 and won the NFC North crown. Ben Johnson is the second Bears head coach since the 1970 merger to win the division in his first full season with the team. Matt Nagy did it in 2018.
One year after finishing with a 5-12 record that saw former coach Matt Eberflus fired midseason, the Bears head into Week 17 with 11 wins and atop their division. In 20 of the past 23 seasons (2003-2025), at least one team has won its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last place. The Bears will get to host a playoff game at Soldier Field in January, which has long been Johnson’s goal, particularly after seeing how the crowd fed off the momentum shift late in Chicago’s win over Green Bay on Dec. 20.
“I felt that crowd and I was so blown away by the impact that they had [last] Saturday night that I think that we all want to be playing a playoff game in front of them so they can have that same impact there, so that’s going to be our focus,” Johnson said earlier this week. “We’ve got to win this division or earn that right to play a home playoff game. We have a chance to do that over the next couple of games.”
A 12th win on Sunday would tie the Bears most in a season over the last 15 years and keep Chicago alive for the No. 1 seed. The Bears need to beat both the Niners and Lions in Week 18 and have the Seahawks lose one of their remaining games against the Panthers or 49ers to capture the top seed in the conference and a first-round bye.
The Bears have six wins this season after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, which are the most in a season by any team since 1970. Quarterback Caleb Williams’ late-game heroics once again lifted the Bears in their win over the Packers when he found undrafted rookie wide receiver Jahdae Walker for a touchdown with 28 seconds left to tie the game at the end of regulation and launched a 46-yard pass to DJ Moore to win the game in overtime.
“I do take a little satisfaction and things like that and being able to help this team, help this organization, be a part of it to get to the playoffs.” Williams said. “And my goal isn’t to just get to the playoffs, my goal is to win and win big. And so I’m going to keep my head down, I’m going to keep growing for the guys in this building, for the coaches and things like that, for this organization and for the city, to be able to be proud and happy, to be fans and supporters of the Chicago Bears.”
