Tag: Wildcard

Bears receive no help on Sunday when it comes to playoff push

As the Bears look to make a push for a Wild Card spot, they didn’t get any help on Sunday as the Vikings and Rams both won.

The Chicago Bears kept their slim playoff hopes alive on Thursday when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 and improved to 7-6 on the season. Their playoff odds stood at 5% following the win, but that percentage won’t improve following Sunday’s game results, however.

Trailing the sixth seeded Minnesota Vikings by two games and the Los Angeles Rams, the first team out, by one heading into Sunday’s games, the Bears needed a loss by either team to gain ground in the race for the final wildcard spot. Unfortunately, both teams beat their respective opponents to keep the Bears at bay and lowering their chances of making the postseason to 3%, according to fivethirtyeight.com.

The Vikings took care of business at home against the Detroit Lions, winning 20-7 to improve to 9-4, while the Rams are suddenly surging, winning their second-straight divisional game as they grounded the Seattle Seahawks 28-12 and remain a game ahead of the Bears statistically at 8-5, although Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker after defeating the Bears last month.

To make matters worse, the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers were also victorious, beating the Washington Redskins 30-15. The win keeps them atop the division and all but eliminates the Bears from repeating as division champions.

The Bears are still “in the hunt” with three games to go, but the window is closing. Assuming they win their final games against the Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Vikings to finish 10-6 (a feat unlikely in itself), the Bears will need the Rams and Vikings to lose two out of their final three games to secure the final wildcard spot. Below are the remaining schedules for each team.

Los Angeles Rams Remaining Schedule:

  • @ Dallas Cowboys (Week 15)
  • @ San Francisco 49ers (Week 16)
  • Vs. Arizona Cardinals (Week 17)

Minnesota Vikings Remaining Schedule:

  • @ Los Angeles Chargers (Week 15)
  • Vs. Green Bay Packers (Week 16)
  • Vs. Chicago Bears (Week 17)

At this point, the Bears can only control what they can control by winning their final three games and putting themselves in the best position possible to make the playoffs. There’s still hope the pieces can fall into place, but this weekend’s results severely put a damper on the excitement following their win on Thursday.

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Instant analysis of Seattle’s 28-12 loss to Los Angeles

The Seattle Seahawks fell into the fifth seed of the NFC after an ugly loss to the Rams in Los Angeles, 28-12, on Sunday Night Football.

A sloppy game on both sides of the ball saw the Seattle Seahawks fall to the Los Angeles Rams, 28-12, on Sunday night.

The Seahawks are now 10-3 on the season and in fifth place in the NFC – with a playoff spot still not a guarantee.

It was a particularly ugly first half for Seattle, especially on defense. The Seahawks allowed Rams quarterback Jared Goff to complete 15 passes, on 18 attempts, for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Seattle’s offense really wasn’t any better, only mustering a field goal on the opening drive and otherwise being held scoreless.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Seahawks lost running back Rashaad Penny to a knee injury early in the game, and he did not return.

The defense picked things up in a big way in the third quarter, with two interceptions by free safety Quandre Diggs – including a pick-six – allowing Seattle to crawl back into the game.

However, the offense never found their rhythm, and while the defense did their best to keep things close, Los Angeles eventually found the end zone again with about 11 minutes to go, and their lead remained insurmountable.

The loss knocked the Seahawks down to the fifth seed in the extremely top-heavy NFC. With three games remaining, including one against San Francisco (11-2) in Week 17, Seattle can’t afford to come out sloppy again the rest of the season.

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