Nobody would’ve dreamed it was possible just a few weeks ago. After being blown out in Green Bay by the Packers, everybody saw the writing on the wall for the Chicago Bears. Mitch Trubisky hadn’t changed as a quarterback. Head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace were going to get fired for their failures to elevate this team. Something that was further cemented by their brutal collapse against Detroit a week later.
Yet despite all of that, the team hasn’t stopped fighting. Credit must be given where it’s due. Nagy has done a great job keeping his players from becoming dispirited and disinterested. Something that is almost impossible following a six-game losing streak. Now after crushing the Houston Texans last week and upsetting the Minnesota Vikings this past Sunday, many things are back on the table for Chicago.
Especially the idea of making the playoffs.
Thanks to the expansion of seven teams instead of six, it’s far easier to make the postseason now than in years past. For the Bears, they don’t need a ton of help to make it happen. The scenario needs to basically unfold as follows.
- Chicago must win their final two games
- Arizona must lose to either the 49ers or Rams over the next two weeks
That’s it. Now there is a way for the Bears to get in without winning both their games. In that instance, Minnesota would have to lose to either the Saints or Lions while Arizona drops their final two games. Chicago would hold the tiebreaker with the Cardinals in that scenario, sneaking into the postseason at 8-8.
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Chicago Bears schedule is lining up perfectly for them
Getting past the Vikings is potentially huge. Next up the Bears will visit Jacksonville. The Jaguars have just one win this season and now have control of the #1 pick in the 2021 draft. Everybody knows that is the golden ticket to Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. While tanking isn’t an official thing in the NFL, it’s hard to imagine that team is a huge issue for the Bears with their season long since over.
That just leaves the Green Bay Packers. Everybody knows the story. This team has had the number of the Chicago Bears for three decades now. A byproduct of fielding two all-time great quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers has owned them at Soldier Field too. Except will he actually play in that game? It’s becoming a legitimate question.
Green Bay may have nothing to play for by that point.
With the New Orleans Saints losing on Sunday to Kansas City, the Packers are left in firm control of the #1 seed for the NFC playoffs. Essentially if Green Bay manages to defeat the Tennessee Titans next Sunday, they will lock up homefield advantage for the playoffs. This would render their game in Chicago irrelevant, increasing the likelihood they rest their starters in an effort to keep everybody healthy.
That would hand the Bears a golden opportunity to secure a rare victory over their rivals and punch their ticket to the postseason for the second time in three years. A remarkable turnaround considering where they were a month ago.
