Bears heating up, need help to boost playoff hopes
In the hunt isn’t where the Bears wanted to be entering their idle Sunday in Week 14. But it sure beats being out of the hunt, which is where they were in early November before winning four of their last five games.
So here they are, at 7-6 and clinging to faint playoff hopes after their 31-24 victory Thursday against the Cowboys. They insist they’re focused only on next Sunday’s game against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
For what it’s worth, the New York Times’ NFL playoff calculator handicaps the Bears’ playoff chances at 5%. But you don’t need that to understand how their place in the NFC standings (eighth) and the remaining schedule for every team probably means they won’t be playing in January.
That said, the Bears can’t be eliminated in Week 14. Their best chance of making the playoffs — albeit a long shot — is to catch the Vikings for the sixth seed (and second wild-card berth).
The Vikings (8-4) lead the Bears by 1½ games entering their home game Sunday against the Lions. The Vikings’ magic number to finish ahead of the Bears is 3 — meaning any combination of Vikings wins and Bears losses that totals three will ensure the Vikings place ahead of the Bears. So at this stage, Bears fans should be rooting hard against the Vikings. And the Rams (7-5), who are seeded seventh and have a head-to-head tiebreaker over them.
Scoreboard watching
Lions at Vikings, noon Sunday: Again, the Bears’ best path to the playoffs goes past the Vikings, so the Vikings need to lose. But they’re 5-0 at home this season and 13-point favorites against the Lions team the Bears beat twice in November.
Redskins at Packers, noon Sunday: The Packers haven’t clinched the NFC North. They also haven’t eliminated the Bears from winning the division. A win Sunday wouldn’t even accomplish that. But if they’re going to collapse, losing at home to the Redskins as 12½-point favorites would be the way to start.
Seahawks at Rams, 7:20 p.m. Sunday: The Rams lead the Bears by a half-game and have secured the tiebreaker because of their head-to-head win Nov. 17. So the Bears have to make up 1½ games in the standings to qualify for the playoffs.
Giants at Eagles, 7:15 p.m. Monday: The Eagles have their eyes on winning the NFC East, which seems to be easier than catching the Vikings in the wild-card race.