NFC Playoff Picture Predictions: Packers miss on top-two seed

Predicting the NFC Playoff picture halfway through the 2020 NFL season.

Now that we’re officially over halfway through the 2020 NFL season and, even though there have been some COVID-related bumps along the road, it appears that the rest of the regular season and playoffs should be able to be played as normal. Therefore, it is time to take a look at the NFC Playoff picture and examine the possible teams and matchups we will see come January.

In the 2020 season, the NFL has introduced a seventh playoff seed for each conference, meaning that there is only one bye that can be earned with an extra game in each conference being played on Wild Card Weekend.

This will mean that more teams will be competitive in the home stretch as the bye weeks and Wild Card race will likely come down to the Week 17 games. If the 2020 season has shown us anything so far, it is to expect the unexpected. And with half the season still left to play, anything can happen.

Without that in mind, here are NFC playoff picture predictions as we go through all seven seeds in the conference and which teams will earn them.

NFC Playoff Picture No. 7 seed: Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears currently sit at 5-4, second in the NFC North and just outside the playoffs. After a strong 5-1 start, they have dropped their past three games and have lost four out of five games against opponents with a record above .500. In fact, their greatest margin of victory so far is only seven points, when they beat the Carolina Panthers 23-16.

Luckily for them, they have a light schedule for the rest of the year with their remaining opponents having a combined record of 24-32. Five of their seven remaining games come against teams that currently have three or fewer wins.

Their elite defense will cause them to rarely get upset and stay competitive against strong teams but their lackluster offense means they will never have a comfortable victory. They currently are fourth-worst in points scored per game and the three teams they are ahead of are a combined 4-22.

Ultimately, these bottom two seeds will come down to some combination of the Bears, Rams, Cardinals and Vikings. The Bears are currently half-game back of the Rams and Cardinals and a game and a half-game above the Vikings. Key games for the Bears will be in Week 10 and Week 15 against the Vikings.

If they are able to find some sort of offensive rhythm and their defense continues playing at an elite level, they can ride their easy schedule to a playoff berth.