No, I don’t have a concussion.
I also checked and I am not feverish, I haven’t had a traumatic brain injury and as far as I know, I’m in good mental health. You are going to question every one of those statements after I write this but I’m going to say it anyway- the Chicago Bears can still make the playoffs.
Chicago Bears
No, it’s not a lock. No it won’t be easy and yes, I realize it’s a long shot. But until they are officially eliminated, the way this team plays, I’ll give them a chance, and I am going to keep sending these out. I wrote earlier in the week why the loss to the San Francisco 49ers didn’t crush their playoff hopes. For the Bears to make the playoffs, they’ve needed to go 9-7, and it’s something I’ve stated since mid-November and it’s something I stand by.
So the Bears sit at 5-7, and if somehow they win out, their tiebreaker situation is in such good shape, that the Bears will need very little help to make the postseason, but they will need a little, but after last night’s loss by the Minnesota Vikings, the first critical result has been secured.
There isn’t much to watch this week, but Bears fans that are keeping the faith should keep their eye on a couple more games. It’s December 11 and the Bears haven’t been eliminated from the playoffs, just keep that in mind, because as this team rebuilds, that’s a great thing.
Before I get to the games, a quick discussion on the Vikings. This team has become the Bears’ playoff enemy. It’s most likely going to be Minnesota, the Bears or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the last playoff spot. The Bears can beat the Bucs on their way to 9-7 and grab the tiebreaker against them, but they need the Vikings to fall from a team that was once 8-3 all the way down to 9-7. Minnesota now sits at 8-5 and the Bears can give them a sixth loss in week 15. The seventh loss will very probably come in week seventeen against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field so thanks to that loss yesterday against the Arizona Cardinals, a 9-7 finish for the Vikings is probable if the Bears can take care of business against them when they square off. But for now, onto Sunday’s games.
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1:00pm ET: Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears– Let’s start with the obvious game- our beloved Bears. The Bears need to win out. Some team, somewhere besides the Seattle Seahawks is going to finish the year with nine wins, so if the Bears don’t win out, 8-8 isn’t going to cut it. They need to be a cliche and take it one game at a time, and that starts this Sunday in Chicago.
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
1:00pm ET: Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens– The Bears can still in theory catch the Seahawks so I’ll keep them on the watch list. the 7-5 ‘Hawks need to go 1-3 to finish below the Bears and they don’t have a lot of difficult games. This is a longshot, but still worth noting, cheer for our ole pal Marc Trestman and the Ravens to upset Seattle and fall to 7-6.
Crystal LoGiudice- USA TODAY Sports
1:00pm ET: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers– The Falcons are doing a great job eliminating themselves from playoff contention. This team was once 5-0 and has since tanked and fallen to 6-6. The Panthers should take care of business this week and drop Atlanta to 6-7 and pretty much eliminate them from playoff contention, but if somehow the fading Falcons pull the upset, we have to put them right back into the playoff mix.