Story byJustis MosquedaMon, December 29, 2025 at 5:02 AM UTC·2 min readAccording to the New York Times/The Athletic playoff simulator, there’s only a 60 percent chance of the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears getting a rubber match in Chicago for the wild card round, despite the Packers being locked into the NFC’s seventh seed and the Bears currently holding onto the NFC’s second seed. Here’s how the second seed math works right now, according to The Athletic. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf the Bears beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Chicago will lock in the second seed. If they lose, the Bears only have a 13 percent chance of being the second seed because of how likely it is that the Philadelphia Eagles will beat the Washington Commanders. The only way for the Packers to play anyone but the Bears in the playoffs is if Chicago loses and Philadelphia wins in Week 18. But in the mind of the playoff simulator, that’s not an unlikely outcome.