Can the Chicago Bears Make the Playoffs? Flip a Coin

Across the NFC, the Seahawks have a 98.7% chance to win the NFC West and a 99.9% chance of at least making the playoffs, so Seahawks fans shouldn’t be making any Sunday plans into January.  The other divisions are going toward the Eagles (53.3%/61.1%) and the Saints (59.8%/96.5%).

Nov 10, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano (9) celebrates with teammates after kicking a field goal against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The Carolina Panthers defeated the San Francisco 49ers 10-9. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

For the Wild Card, the Bears’ biggest competitors are the Niners and the Carolina Panthers.  The Panthers actually have a 90.9% chance of making the playoffs on the behind their Monday Night Football win to get to 7 wins on the season and games against Miami, Tampa Bay and the Falcons on the horizon.

It would seem that the Bears’ best path to the playoffs is winning the North.  That will take winning one more than the Lions over the last six weeks.  It’s going to be a tough road for the Bears, who play four of their last six on the road and the two home games against the Cowboys and Packers.

If we have hopes beyond just making the playoffs, the Football Outsiders have you covered too.  They give the Bears an 11.1% chance of making the Conference Finals, a 4.9% chance to get to the Super Bowl and a 2.5% chance to win the big game.

Here are a couple of parting fun matchup possibilities if the Bears actually do make the Super Bowl.

Odds of a Cutler-Bowl (Chicago vs Denver) = 1.9%

Odds of a Super Bowl XX Rematch (Chicago vs New England) = 0.9%

Odds of a Super Bowl XLI Rematch (Chicago vs Indianapolis) = 0.4%