A weekly breakdown of how the Bears can make the playoffs
What needs to happen in Week 15
Before we take a look at Week 15, we must recap what must take place in Week 14. The Bears need to beat the Cowboys on Thursday night. The Rams need to lose to the Seahawks and the Vikings will likely destroy the Detroit Lions.
If all of those things happen (or maybe the Lions beat the Vikings), then we can keep moving forward to Week 15. This week, the Chicago Bears face off against the Green Bay Packers. These two teams faced off in Week 1 to open the NFL season. The Packers were able to win 10-3 as both offenses struggled mightily.
The good news for this team is that Akiem Hicks returned to practice on Sunday and could play as early as this game against the Packers. Could his return be the spark needed to actually win this game? Before the season started I had them splitting the season series with the Packers. Could my prediction hold true?
Although it would be fantastic, I have a hard time believing the Bears can find a way to win in Week 15. A loss to the Packers would mean the Bears are going to fall back to .500 at 7-7. That said, the Bears do find a way to play the division well under Matt Nagy and I would not be shocked if they pulled off some defensive miracle of a victory.
I will keep with them losing and take a look at those two other pesky teams the Bears must worry about. The Rams will face off against the Cowboys. I had the Bears finding a way to beat the Cowboys in Week 14, but I believe the Rams beat themselves when they face the Cowboys in Week 15. This will keep the team at 7-7 on the season and still only ahead of the Bears due to the tiebreaker.
The Vikings will be playing the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night in Week 15. Although the Chargers keep finding ways to lose, this game should be tougher than many might think. For the Bears to have a path to the playoffs, the Vikings will need to lose this game or the game vs. the Detroit Lions. I am going to say this game will surprise the Vikings as they travel across the country and struggle to score against the Chargers.