The Bears are playing the long game!

Packers Update: The Bears are remembering the big picture, yet Lions and Packers are improving.

The Bears are playing the long game — but Lions and Packers are doing it better. It has been 13 years since an NFC North team played in the Super Bowl. That streak won’t last much longer.

The Lions’ Kerby Joseph and the Packers’ Jordan Love meet on the field after their game at Ford Field on Nov. 23.

It has been 13 years since an NFC North team played in the Super Bowl. That streak won’t last much longer.

Two of the final four teams in the NFC playoffs are from the North — the Packers will travel to the top-seeded 49ers on Saturday and the Lions will be a heavy favorite when they host the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Even if neither North team advances to the Super Bowl, they have futures even brighter than their present. That complicates an already-daunting task for the Bears. In the two years since general manager Ryan Poles vowed to “take the North and never give it back,” the Bears have watched all three of their divisional rivals make the playoffs.