Matt Nagy: Bears will take their shot at No. 2 seed, but will adjust accordingly

The NFL is a business. But sometimes it’s personal.

Bears coach Matt Nagy and Eagles coach Doug Pederson both played it coy, but neither could hide the fact that Pederson called his old friend for a favor Monday. The Eagles’ hopes of getting a chance to defend their Super Bowl title rest in large part on Nagy’s Bears beating the Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The two coached together under Andy Reid with the Eagles (2009-10) and Chiefs (2013-15).

“I might [have called Nagy]. Maybe I’ve done that. We’ll have to see,” said Pederson, whose team also has to beat the Redskins on Sunday at FedEx Field to have a shot. “Maybe I’ve already done that this morning.”

Well, coach Nagy?

“He may have. He may have,” Nagy said when asked about it Monday at -Halas Hall. “I’ll leave it at that.”

The good news for Pederson is that Nagy, even with a playoff berth locked up, is almost duty-bound to go all-out against the Vikings. The Bears (11-4) still have a chance to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye if they beat the Vikings and the Rams (12-3) lose to the 49ers at home.

If the Bears are the No. 3 seed as -expected, they could face the Vikings (8-6-1), Eagles (8-7) or Seahawks -(9-6) in the wild-card game Jan. 5 or 6 at -Soldier Field. The opponent depends on the outcome of four games Sunday: Bears–Vikings, 49ers-Rams, Cardinals-Seahawks and Eagles-Redskins.

If the favored Rams (-10), Eagles (-6.5) and Seahawks (likely -2½ to -10 depending on whether Pete Carroll rests his starters) all win as expected, the Bears will play the Eagles in the wild-card game if they beat the Vikings, or they’ll play the Vikings again if they lose. The only way the Bears can face the Seahawks is if Seattle loses to the Cardinals and the Bears lose to the Vikings.

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The final week presents some interesting scenarios for Nagy. On a personal level, it stands to reason that he’d love to help his friend Pederson get in the playoffs. But if that happens, the Bears would be facing a defending Super Bowl champion on a roll — five victories in its last six games.

Or the Bears could face the Vikings in back-to-back weeks and for the third time this season — often a dicey proposition. And if it’s the Seahawks, the Bears will be facing a team with the revenge factor — and a healthy Bobby Wagner — after the Bears won 24-17 with Wagner out with an injury in Week 2 at Soldier Field.

The only real known is that Nagy will open the game Sunday with his starters. Considering the hit-and-miss playoff record of teams that coast in Week 17, it might be a good thing to have something to play for.

“Yeah, I like that,” Nagy said. “I’ve been a part of both [strategies]. We try to win and do everything we can to do that, we’re at least controlling what we can control. And it gives us an ability throughout the week to prepare mentally, physically — you stay within the same pattern you’ve been in all season.”

But even that approach is fluid. If the chances to get the No. 2 seed dissipate, Nagy likely will switch to “coast” mode.

“You have to be realistic in some of this,” Nagy said. “We’ll have to have a plan [and] be smart about it. If it’s a complete blowout and word gets to me about that, then we have to figure out what the best thing is for us.”