Chicago Bears Playoff Chances: What needs to happen in Week 15

The playoffs are still well within reach for the Chicago Bears entering Week 15.

With their first victory in seven games, the Chicago Bears now have a little bit of momentum going into a huge game with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15. The first go-around with Minnesota just a handful of weeks ago saw the Bears lose thanks to an embarrassing offensive performance.

In that first matchup, Chicago’s Nick Foles threw for just 106 yards before getting knocked out right at the tail end of the fourth quarter. The Bears also rushed for a grand total of 41 yards that night.

It was a true prime time letdown for Chicago, whose defense looked stout as usual, only giving up 19 points. The Bears still only lost by six points, despite the failure on offense. Now, after having gone back to Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago’s offense at least looks formidable. With the defense as good as they can be, the Bears really only have to score 20 points to consider themselves having a shot to win on any given day.

Believe it or not, the Bears are all but out of the NFC playoff picture. They still have a shot to sneak in. At the moment, the Bears sit in the 9th seed, just behind the Vikings. Both teams have a 6-7 record, so if the Bears win this weekend, they leap ahead of Minnesota at 7-7.

Minnesota had won five of six before losing to the Bucs last week, and they’re in must-win territory just like the Bears, so it will likely be a tight, hard-fought game. Chicago will have to slow down Dalvin Cook, who has rushed for 1,352 yards even after missing a little time. Cook has been on fire in 2020, and the Bears were luckily able to limit him to just over 3.0 yards per carry in the first meeting.

Funny enough, this one will be on the shoulders of Trubisky. If the offense continues to roll, the Bears have a great chance at coming away with their second victory in a row.

But, that won’t be enough. This weekend, for the Bears to continue to stay in the thick of the race, there are a couple other games we dive into which matter greatly. Who needs to lose? Let’s get to it.