When it comes to playing or resting their starters, the Bears should _____ .
BRAD BIGGS Intend to end the Vikings’ season
The Bears have the possibility of enhancing their playoff seed with a victory. Sure, the odds aren’t great, but stranger things have happened, and recent history shows that teams playing on wild-card weekend have a difficult time reaching the Super Bowl — let alone winning it. A Vikings victory would give them confidence if they’re the No. 6 seed and need to travel to Soldier Field next weekend to face the Bears. Remember, the Bears had a chance to knock the Packers out of playoff contention in Week 17 in 2010. The Packers won that game, returned to Soldier Field for the NFC championship game and beat the Bears again to reach the Super Bowl.
RICH CAMPBELL Prioritize the playoffs
That means playing an all-out first half and reassessing at halftime. That would be the earliest to soundly assess the Rams-49ers game and whether the Rams are undoubtedly headed to victory and the No. 2 seed. If the Rams are up three scores against the depleted 49ers at any point in the second half, coach Matt Nagy should start prioritizing his starters’ health. And although we’ll probably never know for sure, I’d bet he holds back from the offensive game plan with an eye on the wild-card game, which probably will be against the Vikings.
COLLEEN KANE Monitor the NFL scoreboard closely
Nagy absolutely should have his players prepared to fight to the finish in case the 4-11 49ers somehow have the Rams on the ropes in Los Angeles. But few are predicting that to happen, so Nagy should be prepared to pull his starters if the Rams take a sizable lead by halftime in a game running simultaneously. Especially against a hard-hitting Vikings defense playing for its playoff life, there is no reason to risk injury to the Bears starters if the No. 3 playoff seed is imminent anyway. Plus, the Bears might have to face the Vikings in their playoff opener. Put away some of the tricks until then.
DAN WIEDERER Go all-in
Sure, a 49ers road win over the Rams seems unlikely. And that is a prerequisite for the Bears to jump out of the No. 3 slot. (They also would have to beat the Vikings.) But this is an unpredictable league in which wild things happen all the time. So it only makes sense for Nagy and his players to operate with a focus on best-case scenarios. Those plans can be adjusted Sunday evening if the Rams are pulling away from the Niners. Out of the gates, though, the Bears should be playing with their usual urgency.