Bears: Why the Packers game is the most important domino

Every game is big for the Chicago Bears at this point, but the Green Bay Packers’ game is the biggest.

Sitting at 7-6 and clinging to their playoff lives, every game down the stretch is a giant one for the Chicago Bears. However, this Sunday’s tilt against the Green Bay Packers might be the most important in that it could have a domino effect.

After a 3-1 start to the season, they lost their next four games which included incredibly beatable teams like the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. Had they managed to escape just one of those games with a win, their playoff hopes would be infinitely better than they are.

Be that as it may, they are what their record says they are which is a team just one game above .500, and a longshot to get into the postseason. However, they have been on a little bit of a roll lately, having won their last three games, including an impressive win over a talented, if struggling, Dallas Cowboys squad.

The team needs to continue to take care of their own business and hope for a little help from the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings. Remaining on the Bears’ schedule are the Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Vikings.

Those are all difficult games for sure, but if they can find a way to get past the Packers, things could start to fall into place. For starters, coming off a win against the Packers on the road in Lambeau, where they have not played well in recent years, would be a shot in the arm for a club that is starting to get its swagger back.

They could carry that momentum into a huge showdown with the Chiefs, currently scheduled for primetime in Week 16. Yes, Patrick Mahomes is the reigning MVP but has looked human in his last three games throwing for 640 total yards, and just three touchdowns against two interceptions. In those games, he completed just 59 percent of his passes. So the Bears will take their chances at home in front of what would be an electric crowd against a Chiefs team who is much more beatable this season than last season.

That would put the Bears in a possible ‘win and they’re in’ scenario against the Vikings in Week 17 assuming the Vikings lose one of their next two against the Chargers or Packers. In that scenario, the pressure would be on the Vikings to avoid a collapse. It’s also important to note that the Vikings have failed to beat the Bears in their last three meetings, including Week 17 last season when the Bears knocked them out of the playoffs in Minnesota.