Chicago Bears: Playoffs start on Sunday against the Vikings

The Chicago Bears have a critical game on Sunday.

It has been an absolute roller-coaster of a season for the Chicago Bears. They began the year 5-1 and were a game out of the No. 1 seed in the entire NFC. Unfortunately, that feels like a lifetime ago, even despite it coming in a year that in and of itself has felt like a decade. That’s because so much has transpired since that time.

The team proceeded to lose its next six games, before finally getting back in the win column with a dominating performance against the much-maligned Houston Texans. In that span, they also changed quarterbacks for the second time this year, going back to Mitch Trubisky.

Despite most fans calling for the jobs of everyone within a mile of Halas Hall, a single win against the lowly Texans has seemed to quell the insurrection, and the chatter has inexplicably turned to the idea of possibly bringing back Trubisky, Matt Nagy, and Ryan Pace.

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the team still finds itself in the playoff hunt. However, Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is tantamount to a playoff game. If you don’t like the concept of a “must-win” game, then too bad, because this is a must-win game.

If the Bears lose on Sunday, their chances to make the playoffs slip to a minuscule 3 percent. If, however, they find a way to get past a team that is like themselves in so many ways, their chances skyrocket to approximately 42 percent.

Even with a win, their chances of playing a playoff game this year are still worse than a coin flip, but a loss makes it all but impossible.

With that said, Sunday’s game will be full of emotion and the atmosphere (absent the fans) will feel like a playoff game. That’s because the Vikings are also in the playoff hunt, and are actually a game in front of the Bears in the playoff picture.

So it all comes down to Sunday. Can the Bears continue their offensive success against a better, albeit not great Vikings’ defense? Or will Mike Zimmer dial up a scheme that forces the Bears to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage? Sunday can’t get here soon enough.