Tag: Bears playoffs

The Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention

With a loss to the Packers and a Vikings win, the Bears have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

What was seen as inevitable just hours prior became official late Sunday afternoon when the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 39-10, officially eliminating the Chicago Bears from playoff contention.

After losing to the Green Bay Packers 21-13 earlier in the day, the Bears needed losses from both the Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams to have any chance at the postseason entering Week 16. With the Vikings’ big win on the road, the Bears will be playing for pride next week when the face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Depending on what happens next week, however, the Bears could still play spoiler when they face the Vikings in the regular season finale. Minnesota has yet to clinch a playoff spot.

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Bears vs. Cowboys: 4 storylines to watch in Week 14

There’s plenty to watch as the Bears host the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, where both teams are looking to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Chicago Bears (6-6) return to Soldier Field looking to extend their winning streak to three games as they host the Dallas Cowboys (6-6) on Thursday Night Football.

While this season has been anything but a success, the Bears are still gearing up for a late-season playoff push in the month of December, which wasn’t something many were thinking after the Bears sat at 3-5.

But if the Bears want to have any hope of a playoff berth, they’re going to need to start by taking care of business against the Cowboys.

Here are four storylines to watch as the Bears face the Rams on Sunday:

1. Can the Bears keep their playoff hopes alive?

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Considering how this season has unfolded, the fact that the Bears are playing meaningful football in December is encouraging. But if the Bears are going to make a playoff push, they’re going to need to essentially win out in their final four games. That starts Thursday against the Cowboys.

Chicago will face a struggling Dallas team that is also fighting for a playoff spot — only they’re fighting to win the NFC East over the Philadelphia Eagles. So the Cowboys have plenty to play for, even after they were embarrassed on Thanksgiving against the Buffalo Bills.

While the Bears need plenty of help for any hope at the playoffs, they also have to take care of business. You could argue that the .500 Cowboys are the easiest remaining opponent for the Bears, who will also battle three teams with winning records on track for the playoffs in the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.

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Bears have toughest strength of schedule heading into final 4 games

As the Bears prepare to make a playoff push, they’ll have to do it facing the toughest schedule in the final quarter of the season.

As the Chicago Bears look to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they have a tough road ahead of them heading into the final four games of the regular season.

The Bears will face the Dallas Cowboys (6-6), Green Bay Packers (9-3), Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) and Minnesota Vikings (8-4) to conclude the regular season. It’s easily the toughest part of their schedule — and it also happens to be the toughest strength of schedule of any team in the final quarter, according to ESPN NFL Prognosticator Mike Clay.

If the Bears want to have any shot at a Wild Card playoff berth, they essentially need to win out. That, and they need a ton of help from other NFC teams vying for that same playoff spot.

The Rams need to lose two of their final four games, which includes matchups against division rivals the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

The Vikings also need to lose two of their final four games, which also includes divisional games against the Packers and Bears.

Regardless, the Bears face a tough road ahead as they fight for that final Wild Card spot. If they can string together some solid performances from their offense to couple with their defense, this team might have a chance. But let’s call it what it is: A longshot.

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NFC Playoff Picture: Who to root for as Bears make Wild Card push

The Bears are going to need some help if they’re going to make a Wild Card push in the final quarter of the season. Here’s who to root for.

With the Bears’ Thanksgiving victory over the Lions, they improved to 6-6 on the season and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.

There’s a lot that needs to happen if the Bears are going to make a push for a Wild Card berth. First off, they essentially need to win out over these final four games, which include games against the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs and Vikings.

Even if the Bears are able to do that, they’re going to need help from other NFC Wild Card hopefuls, most notably the Vikings and Rams, if they’re going to have a shot down the stretch in the fourth quarter of the season.

While the Bears need a lot of help, it’ll be good to see them playing meaningful football in December.

Here are four games that Bears fans should keep an eye on in the NFC playoff race:

Panthers (5-6) vs. Redskins (2-9)

This should be an easy conference matchup for the Panthers, who will face a struggling Redskins team led by Dwayne Haskins. Then again, the Panthers have lost four of their last five games.

The Bears currently hold an edge over the Panthers in terms of conference record, which means that even if they beat the Redskins they’ll sit behind Chicago after Week 13.

Eagles (5-6) vs. Dolphins (2-9)

You figure this is another easy matchup for a struggling Eagles team that needs a win, and Bears might want to root for the Eagles against the Dolphins.

In terms of the NFC East, if the Bears are able to beat the Cowboys on Thursday night, then Bears fans should root for the Eagles to win the division as Chicago would own the tiebreaker over Dallas. The Eagles beat the Bears 22-14 earlier this season.

Rams (6-5) vs. Cardinals (3-7-1)

The Bears know firsthand how wonky divisional games can be, and Chicago fans will certainly be rooting for a Cardinals upset of the Rams on Sunday.

This is another team that the Bears need some help from as the Rams own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago following a Week 11 primetime win. If the Cardinals can beat the Rams, Los Angeles would drop to 6-6 and the Bears would be a half game out of that seventh Wild Card spot. The Rams will face the Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers and Cardinals again in their final four games.

Vikings (8-3) vs. Seahawks (9-2)

This Monday Night Football showdown is certainly the most important game of the week as everyone in the NFC Wild Card race is chasing the Vikings. The NFC’s current wild card teams will face-off on the primetime stage, and Bears fans should be rooting heavily for the Seahawks.

The Bears currently own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings, and they’ll play them again in the regular-season finale. If everything goes Chicago’s way, that Week 17 contest could be a play-in for a Wild Card berth. The Bears would need the Vikings to lose three of their final five games, starting Monday night against Seattle.

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NFC playoff picture after Week 12: Where do the Bears stand?

While the Bears’ playoff hopes are slim right now, what’s the likelihood of them making the playoffs if they win out?

While the Bears’ playoff hopes remain slim, there’s another meaningful week of football as Chicago remains “in the hunt” in the NFC playoff picture.

Here’s what the current NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 12:

The Bears (5-6) have lost head-to-head matchups against the Rams (6-5) and Eagles (5-6), which doesn’t bode well in the race for a wildcard spot.

The New York Times created an algorithm that lets you simulate the remainder of the season. If the Bears were to win out — which is a tall order — their odds to make the playoffs increase from 2 to 66 percent.

The best hope for Chicago’s slim playoff chances are for them to win out in their final five games to finish 10-6. But it won’t be easy against the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs and Vikings.

So let’s play a game of “what if?” If the Bears finish 10-6, they’d need the following to happen to lock up a wildcard berth:

  • The Rams to finish 9-7 plus one of the following…
  • The Vikings lose three of their last five, finishing 10-6 with the Bears owning the tiebreaker
  • The Seahawks lose their last five games (including a primetime matchup against the Vikings)

Let’s be honest, the way that this Bears team has been playing recently doesn’t give much confidence that they can beat the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs or Vikings yet alone win six straight games to close the regular season.

But if they manage to do the impossible — and get a little help along the way — we might be looking at a different conversation here in a few weeks. Crazier things have happened.

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