The Chicago Bears made easy work of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and now the real fun — or stress, depending how you look at it — begins.

The Bears’ 31-3 drubbing of the hapless Browns at Soldier Field, coupled with the Green Bay Packers’ 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos, put Chicago back atop the NFC North with a 10-4 record. That means if the season ended today, the Bears would be the NFC’s No. 2 seed and would host those Packers in a wild-card round game.

But the season doesn’t end today. In fact, three pivotal weeks remain for the Bears, who are scheduled to face an NFC playoff contender each time.

It starts Saturday with a home game against the Packers, who defeated the Bears in a tight Week 14 contest. The Bears then will visit the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers, who currently own the NFC’s No. 6 playoff seed, on Dec. 28 before returning to host the 8-6 Detroit Lions in a potential winner-take-all game on Jan. 3 or Jan. 4.

That Week 18 finale could become moot, though, if the Bears beat the Packers on Saturday and the Lions lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, those results would give Chicago the playoff berth it so desperately seeks.

The Bears believe 11 wins will be enough for an NFC playoff spot, but three wins against three tough opponents could make them the No. 1 seed at 13-4. Two wins, particularly against the NFC North rival Packers and Lions, most likely would mean a division title and a top-four seed. Three losses, however, could end Chicago’s playoff dreams in what would be a cruel end to head coach Ben Johnson’s full-of-progress first season.

So, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Here are the NFC playoff standings entering Week 16:

NFC playoff standings

1. xy-LA Rams (11-3)
2. x-Chicago Bears (10-4)
3. x-Philadelphia Eagles (9-5)
4. x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
5. Seattle Seahawks (11-3)
6. San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
7. Green Bay Packers (9-4-1)
   x-division leader
   y-clinched playoff spot
   —————————
8. Detroit Lions (8-6)
9. Carolina Panthers (7-7)
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1)
    —————————
    Eliminated from contention: Minnesota Vikings (6-8), Atlanta Falcons (5-9), Washington Commanders (4-10), New Orleans Saints (4-10), Arizona Cardinals (3-11), New York Giants (2-12)

AFC playoff standings on NFL.com

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