All eyes are on the NFC North with an important matchup opening Sunday in Week 12. chicago bears to host minnesota vikings At Soldier Field. The game will kick off at 1pm ET and will be the most important of the early games.
Vikings are field goal favorites FanDuel Sportsbook. Chicago will be without safety Elijah Hicks, while Minnesota has no new significant players on the injury report. Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back D'Andre Swift are both questionable for this game, but both will play.
Minnesota is in second place in the NFC North with an 8-2 record, while Chicago is in fourth place in the NFC North with a 4-6 record. Below we take a look at the playoff implications for these two teams.
vikings playoff photos
The Vikings are 9-1, one game behind the Lions, and 7-3, one game up. packers. The Vikings split their first two divisional matchups, winning against the Packers and losing to the Lions. This will be their first matchup against the Bears. Minnesota currently sits in fifth place in the NFC playoff standings, with the Packers and Commanders holding the remaining two wild-card spots.
What a Vikings win means for their playoff prospects
They'll need help to stay ahead of the Lions, but a win will at least keep them at the top of the wild-card standings.
Bears playoff photos
The Bears are three games behind the Packers, four games behind the Vikings and five games behind the Lions. They lost to the Packers in the first division game of the season. They're way back, but if they can get back on track, they have a matchup that could move them forward. Chicago currently sits in 12th place in the NFC overall standings, tied with the Bucks, who hold the conference record tiebreaker ahead of them. The Bears are 2.5 games behind the Commanders for the final wild-card spot.
What a Bears win means for their playoff prospects
They need a win to start moving up in the wild-card standings. of 49ers Given San Francisco's tough matchup in Green Bay, this is the team with the best chance of passing. But for now, Chicago just needs to win the game, regardless of other outcomes.
Impact on tiebreaker
This is obvious when you look at the rankings by category. Head-to-head results will be key, as will divisional results. In conferences, each team's NFC record is important in order to stay ahead of other nearby teams in the standings.
