Bears: Making the playoffs is more possible than it seems for Chicago
By Ryan Fedrau
The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 24-20 on Thanksgiving to improve their record to 6-6. Now, two games out here are the Bears’ smoothest path to the playoffs.
There’s something to be said about this Chicago Bears‘ team. They have been down and back up. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has been on a roll as of late during the team’s most recent 3-1 stretch. Trubisky has nine touchdowns (8 passing, 1 rushing) during these last four games. He also has two games where he’s had a passer rating over 118.
The defense has been quietly improving during this four-game stretch. The playcalling needs to improve fast. It’s Matt Nagy‘s put-up or shut up moment. The odds are not in Chicago’s favor but crazier things have happened. There’s still hope.
The Bears best chance is to steal the second wildcard spot. It’s impossible for them to get the first wildcard spot, and almost impossible to win the division. This scenario is giving the Green Bay Packers the NFC North. That leaves the Minnesota Vikings at 10-6 and dropping out of the second wildcard.
Chicago Bears (6-6): Remaining Schedule: Dallas, at Green Bay, Kansas City, at Minnesota.
This schedule is rough and not in the Bears’ favor. The way Dallas has been playing, the Bears should be able to sneak one past them. Playing the Green Bay Packers is never fun when it’s must-win. Hopefully, the Bears can do exactly what the L.A. Chargers did and shut down Aaron Rodgers to make the team 8-6.
The Kansas City Chiefs are beatable. They’re 7-4, only one game better than the Bears. Their offense is better than the Bears but their defense isn’t. It will take a huge defensive game out of the Bears to shut down Patrick Mahomes. It’ll be Nagy v.s. Andy Reid, apprentice versus master. This will be a full team-win. All three phases of the team will need to play together. Winning this game will be a tough test but it can happen.
Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings would be for the second wildcard in this scenario.
Finish 10-6 should give the Bears a playoff spot. There are still a few other teams to worry about, including Minnesota.