LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chuck Pagano made the most of his time away from the sideline. He's also glad to be coaching again.

The Chicago Bears' new defensive coordinator gets to put his...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace insisted this week he is no fan of smokescreens. Now, it's time to find out if he was putting one up.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings will be constructing a new front five yet again this year.

Perhaps this will be the spring they can finally plant a couple of seeds for...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have a different view of the draft this year.

A worst-to-first jump last season left them staring down at the rest of the NFC North, and loaded...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears signed kicker Cody Parkey to a four-year contract in March hoping he would give them the consistency they have lacked ever since they let Robbie Gould...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chuck Pagano is ready to embrace the "opportunity of a lifetime" as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator.

He inherits a group that ranked among the best in the NFL and helped Chicago win the NFC North after four straight last-place finishes. The Bears made the playoffs for the first time in eight years in their first season under coach Matt Nagy.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace wouldn't say if Cody Parkey will return for another season, and coach Matt Nagy called out the struggling kicker for appearing on the "Today" show last week.

Pace was adamant Monday that the Bears need improvement in the kicking game, calling it a "position of emphasis for us." When asked if Parkey will return for a second season, he said: "Those are things that need to play out as we go into it."

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears rode a dominant defense to the NFC North championship in a breakout season. They hope to keep it going with a new coordinator.

The Bears hired former Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano to replace Vic Fangio on Friday, hoping he can help them build on what they accomplished this season.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles were desperately seeking a lift with little time left to save their season.

Nick Foles came through for the defending Super Bowl champions. And he did it just in time.

Foles threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate on fourth down in the final minute, and the Eagles hung on for a 16-15 wild-card victory over the Chicago Bears after Cody Parkey's missed field goal hit the upright and crossbar.

CHICAGO (AP) — Philip Rivers has come up empty against Tom Brady every time.

He gets another shot next weekend.

Rivers directed the Los Angeles Chargers to a 23-17 playoff victory at Baltimore on Sunday, setting up another high-stakes matchup with Brady and the New England Patriots. For all of Rivers' success during his 15 years in the NFL, he is winless in seven career starts against Brady.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Not long after he was hired, Matt Nagy watched the Super Bowl with his wife at a bar near the Chicago Bears' practice facility. His good friend Doug Pederson was coaching the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship.

The place was just about empty. He even had to ask for the game to be turned on.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions fired Jim Caldwell nearly a year ago to reach another level.

So far at least, they have gone in the wrong direction.

The Lions plummeted to 6-10 and last place in the NFC North in Matt Patricia's first season as head coach, their worst year since losing 12 games in 2012.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears are rolling into their first playoff appearance in eight years, with nine wins in 10 games and their sights set on a bigger prize after capturing the NFC North.

"This is where it gets real," coach Matt Nagy said Monday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While taking the NFC North champion Chicago Bears to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, coach Matt Nagy has displayed an energetic personality and aggressive mindset throughout his debut.

Even with their postseason position all but set, the Bears refused to let up. They kept the rival Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs in the process.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Defensive end Akiem Hicks refers to the Chicago Bears' defense as dominant.

Resilient might be a more appropriate description.

The NFC North champion Bears (11-4) keep bouncing back from difficult situations to bring the heat on defense, and are within sight of achieving one major goal they set before the season as they head to Minnesota for Sunday's regular-season finale with the Vikings (8-6-1).

"Dominant, that's it," Hicks said. "We are aggressive. We like to hit.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For the fourth time in the past five years, the Chicago Bears will visit the Minnesota Vikings in the last game on the schedule.

For once, this matchup has some meaning.

The Vikings, having already ceded the NFC North title to the Bears, have yet to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Bears could still improve their seed and snag that coveted first-round bye, if they win and the Los Angeles Rams also lose at home to San Francisco.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The NFC North champion Chicago Bears are rolling along with eight wins in nine games and their first playoff appearance in eight years approaching.

Coach Matt Nagy hopes they haven't hit their peak.

"I want us to get to a point where we literally don't peak until wherever our final game is of the year," he said Wednesday.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have reached the final week of the regular season with a spot in the playoffs still unsecured and a surging division rival boasting one of the NFL's best defenses on the schedule.

This is the type of game, then, for Kirk Cousins to make good on that $84 million in guaranteed money. The NFC North champion Chicago Bears will pose a stiff challenge, as the Vikings are well aware from their previous matchup last month.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears head into their final regular-season game with a shot at an opening-round bye and some extra rest for their first playoff appearance in eight years.

Consider those sweet incentives for the NFC North champions.

A victory at Minnesota combined with a loss by the Los Angeles Rams to the San Francisco 49ers would give the Bears the second seed in the conference and a bye.

"You have to be realistic in some of this," Coach Matt Nagy said Monday.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Back before the season started and Khalil Mack was on the trading block from Oakland, the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers were two of the teams in hottest pursuit of the star pass rusher.

The Bears won that competition and are headed to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, while the 49ers are headed to another disappointing finish thanks in part to a lack of defensive playmakers.

There's hope in 2019 for the Jaguars, Raiders, Giants and other teams who will finish last in the division this year.

The Chicago Bears (10-4) already won the NFC North to complete a worst-to-first turnaround, and the Houston Texans (10-4) are on the verge of securing the AFC South to become the second team to do it this season.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — No one can accuse quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears of forgetting to stop and smell the roses during their run to a 10-4 record.

Or it might be more appropriate to say they've danced their way to the NFC North title.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Coach Matt Nagy is saving the big celebrations for later.

He opted instead to spend "quality time" at home with his four sons, ate sushi, consumed "one beverage" and kept his eyes on the prizes still out there after the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North.

One he would love, though it probably won't come gift-wrapped: A first-round bye.

"You wanna ask me if I want the first-round bye, or the No. 1 seed? Absolutely, give it to me right now," he said.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North and helped knock Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of playoff contention.

They could not have asked for a sweeter scenario.

Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns, Eddie Jackson ended Rodgers' NFL-record streak without an interception and Chicago clinched the division with a 24-17 victory over the Packers on Sunday.

CHICAGO (AP) — Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns, Eddie Jackson ended Aaron Rodgers' NFL-record streak without an interception and the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North with a 24-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The Bears (10-4) secured their first playoff appearance since the 2010 team won the division, and clinching with a rare victory over their heated rivals made it all the more sweet.

The Latest on NFL's Week 15 (all times Eastern):

7:30 p.m.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have beaten the New England Patriots for the first time since 2011.

The Steelers' 17-10 win at Heinz Field kept the Steelers (8-5-1) ahead of the Ravens (8-6) in the NFC North. A loss would have put them on the outside of the playoff picture with two weeks remaining.

The Patriots were denied their 10th consecutive AFC East title.

CHICAGO (AP) — Aaron Rodgers missed a couple of open receivers. He got picked off. He came up empty when the Green Bay Packers needed a big play.

Nothing like his usual work against the Chicago Bears.

Rodgers looked shaky in Green Bay's 24-17 loss to Chicago on Sunday, throwing an interception for the first time since September and failing to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in more than a year.

Matt Nagy is making an impressive first impression as an NFL head coach.

Nagy has helped develop second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky into a solid NFL starter, convinced Vic Fangio to stay on as defensive coordinator, and has the Chicago Bears in position to earn their first playoff berth since 2010 in his first year on the job.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills safety Micah Hyde can't forget the one and only time he picked off Detroit's Matthew Stafford.

It happened in the final minutes of Hyde's final regular-season game with the Packers, when he intercepted Stafford's attempt to Golden Tate at the goal line and helped seal Green Bay's NFC North-clinching 31-24 victory on Jan. 1, 2017.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — No, Glover Quin isn't worrying about Detroit's draft position for next season.

The Lions are 5-8 and in last place in the NFC North, but last weekend, they went on the road and beat Arizona .

Next up is a trip to Buffalo for another winnable game, so talk radio has been ablaze with chatter about whether more victories are even desirable at this point.