NFL playoffs: Bears vs. Saints is Sunday at 3:40 p.m., upping Alvin Kamara’s chance to play

The Bears will open the playoffs against the Saints on Sunday at 3:40 p.m. at the Superdome.

The Bears got into the playoffs despite losing to the Packers to finish 8-8. They landed the seventh seed because the Cardinals lost to fall to 8-8, and the Bears have the tie-breaker.

The Saints were in the mix for the top seed, but the Packers clinched that with their win Sunday.

Saints star running back Alvin Kamara is the biggest beneficiary of the game being Sunday rather than Saturday because it allows for the possibility of him coming off the reserve/COVID-19 list. He missed the Saints’ Week 17 game because he tested positive, but is eligible to return Sunday if he clears the NFL’s protocol.

It’s a rematch of the Nov. 1 game in which the Bears took an early 13-3 lead, then fell behind 23-13 in the fourth quarter. They rallied for a game-tying 51-yard field goal by Cairo Santos with 13 seconds left to send it to overtime at 23-23. The teams nearly tied, but the Saints won it on a field goal with 1:35 left in overtime.

Kamara had 96 yards receiving and 67 yards rushing against the Bears that game.

This will be the third playoff game between the Bears and Saints. The Bears won a first-round game at home in 1991 and won the NFC Championship Game at home in 2007.