The Chicago Bears’ NFL playoff picture looks much clearer — and more promising — halfway through the 2025 season.

Their unbelievable 47-42 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday left the Bears with a 5-3 record, which places them eighth in the NFC playoff standings with nine regular-season games to play.

Seven teams from each conference make the playoffs, and because it’s early in the race, one Bears win and/or one loss by a team currently ahead of them could fully change the picture. The Lions, who own the No. 7 seed as of now, and the Bears both are 5-3, but Detroit’s Week 2 win over Chicago gives them the tiebreaker and, thus, the final NFC playoff spot.

For now, anyway.

NFL.com gives the Bears a 27 percent chance of making the playoffs, though it’s important to note they will play four teams currently holding berths — the Philadelphia Eagles (Nov. 28), the Green Bay Packers (Dec. 7 and Dec. 20), the San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 28) and the Lions (Jan. 3 or Jan. 4). So, depending on how results between then and now break, Chicago should control its own playoff destiny, especially since it trails Green Bay just a half-game in the NFC North at the moment.

The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020, but there’s a new energy under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, who already has matched last year’s win total. Chicago hasn’t posted a winning regular-season record since 2018, when it also made the playoffs.

Rookie tight end Colston Loveland’s 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown was the latest Bears highlight this season, as it rescued his team from a disastrous loss after it shockingly squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. Chicago led 41-27 with 4:53 left, then faced a 42-41 deficit with 54 seconds remaining after a series of miscues.

Here are the latest NFC playoff standings with Sunday’s NFL Week 9 schedule complete.

NFC playoff standings

1. x-Philadelphia Eagles (6-2)
2. x-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2)
3. x-Seattle Seahawks (6-2)
4. x-Green Bay Packers (5-2-1)
5. LA Rams (6-2)
6. San Francisco 49ers (6-2)
7. Detroit Lions (5-3)
   ——————–
8. Chicago Bears (5-3)
9. Carolina Panthers (5-4)
10. Minnesota Vikings (4-4)
11. Dallas Cowboys (3-4-1)
12. Atlanta Falcons (3-5)
13. Washington Commanders (3-6)
14. Arizona Cardinals (2-5)
15. New York Giants (2-7)
16. New Orleans Saints (1-8)

x-division leaders

AFC playoff standings on NFL.com

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