The Chicago Bears officially control their playoff fate with the help of the San Francisco 49ers, who went on a 20-12 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.
There have been several playoff scenarios in which the Bears could close out that seventh place in the NFC playoffs, most of them involving the Cardinals disappearing in recent weeks.
With Arizona’s defeat on Saturday, Chicago has a chance to take control of that seventh place with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Someone who was happy to see the Bears ’playoff hopes kept afloat was George Kittle, who grew up as a Bears fan in Chicago.
“I grew up a fan of the Bears and the fact that we helped the Bears a little bit makes me a little happier.”
Kittle also added a “Da Bears” before wrapping up the question.
With the Cardinals falling to 8-7, the Bears ’playoff chances increased to 71%, according to FiveThirtyEight. These odds increase to 84% if Chicago wins Jacksonville on Sunday.
But Chicago has to take care of business for the last two weeks, where they will face the Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers.
There’s still a scenario where the Bears can get a playoff spot with just one win in their last two games. They would need the Cardinals to lose their Week 17 game against division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, another team fighting for the playoffs.