Bears’ Rooting Guide for 2025 NFL Draft Implications of Week 17

The Chicago Bears emerged from their game on Thursday Night Football with a 4-12 record and a 10-game losing streak going into the final week of the season.

The good news is that the suffering is almost over. The Bears will travel to Green Bay to close out the season. The other good news is that there could be a lot of moment over these final two weeks as far as the 2025 NFL draft order is concerned.

The Bears have been bad this season, but there is reason for optimism. For one, the Bears will begin the process of finding a new head coach. They’ve probably already started doing it through back channels, but they’ll be able to start doing official interviews shortly after the regular season ends.

The other major piece of the puzzle left to figure out is where the Bears will be drafting in April. The Bears could use another blue chip prospect to kickstart the rebuild around Caleb Williams.

Here’s a look at where they stand in that race and some of the results they need to root for to move up the draft board.

1. New York Giants (2-13)

2. New England Patriots (3-12)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12)

4. Tennessee Titans (3-12)

5. Cleveland Browns (3-12)

6. Las Vegas Raiders (3-12)

7. Chicago Bears (4-12)

8. Carolina Panthers (4-11)

9. New York Jets (4-11)

10. New Orleans Saints (5-10)

The Bears loss has temporarily put them ahead of the Panthers and Jets by virtue of being 4-12 instead of 4-11. However, both have worse strength of schedule than the Bears so they will jump back ahead of them if they both lose this week.

Unfortunately for the Bears, their strength of schedule could be a real problem. According to Tankathon, their .559 strength of schedule is tougher than anyone else in the top 10 of the draft order.

The good news is that there’s still a lot of flexibility in the standings. The NFL’s lower class is abnormally large this season and nine teams have a four or fewer wins at this point.

With two weeks left on the NFL schedule, it’s possible that the Bears get some help and finish with a better draft pick.

Here’s a look at some of the results that can help them out this week.

Patriots over Chargers

This AFC showdown kicks off the Saturday slate and should give Bears fans some rooting interest to kick off the weekend. The Pats are a game ahead of the Bears at just 3-12, but a win over the Chargers would knot up their records. It also helps that the Patriots have the BIlls in Week 18 and they could be looking to rest some starters as the No. 1 seed is no longer in play.

Jets over Bills

This one doesn’t seem likely. A Bill win would lock up the No. 2 seed for them and they are relatively healthy. Josh Allen is potentially putting the finishing touches on an MVP season and this might be his last game of the regular season. However, Aaron Rodgers is planning on playing as well. He’s created some fireworks with Davante Adams in recent weeks and the Jets have scared a few teams in that span.

Titans over Jaguars

This is the Game of the Week for draft order watchers. The two 3-12 teams are set to find out who wants to win least and the Bears should be pulling for the Titans to pull off the win. Tennessee is one of the few teams whose strength of schedule might catch the Bears’ by the end of the season at .510. If you’re looking at the whole season, the Titans defense is easily the best unit on the field and could carry the day.

Saints over Raiders

In reality, the Bears have very little chance of catching the Raiders. The Saints leap-frogging the Bears in the top 10 is the much more likely outcome. That’s something the Bears would want to avoid as the Saints could be looking at similar team needs with the quarterbacks off the board. If the Saints beat the Raiders, it makes it virtually impossible that they’ll be able to surpass Chicago.