What Bears-Packers means for NFC standings in Week 18

The Bears face the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture.

The Green Bay Packers are headed to the 2025 NFL Playoffs, but Week 18 still provides a chance to improve their situation. The Packers host the Chicago Bears with a 1 p.m. kickoff on FOX. Green Bay theoretically could choose to rest some of their starters ahead of the Wild Card round, but they will likely play their normal starters until at least halftime. One other game could impact their decisions coming out of the halftime locker room.

Packers playoff picture

The Packers are 11-5 and currently hold the final wild card berth. They are tied with the Washington Commanders, but the Commanders hold the conference record tiebreaker. Washington travels to face the Dallas Cowboys and if both teams win or lose on Sunday, the Green Bay will be locked into the No. 7 seed.

However, if the Packers beat the Bears and the Commanders lose to the Cowboys, Green Bay would move up to the No. 6 seed. That could be worthwhile given the potential matchups. As the No. 7 seed, the Packers would face the No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles. As the No. 6 seed, the Packers would face either the Los Angeles Rams or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams have won five straight coming into Sunday, including a home upset of the Buffalo Bills.

Tiebreaker implications

There are no tiebreaker implications as they cannot move past the Commanders in the conference record tiebreaker.