Yet another week and it was, once more, another game with some late drama for the Chicago Bears. A Week 12 tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't begin the way many Bears fans wanted it to, as quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended up sitting this one out due to a wrist injury.
But, backup quarterback Mason Rudolph did plenty to keep his Steelers in it til the bitter end. With it coming down to the Steelers' final offensive possession, it was the Bears' shorthanded defense who ended things and sealed the victory.
With the win, the Bears have now won eight games on the season. We'll talk more about this in a later post, but this is something Matt Eberflus was never able to do in Chicago. Ben Johnson did it in his first season.
At 8-3, the Bears are in great position in the current NFC playoff picture.
Updated NFC playoff standings after Bears' Week 12 win over the Steelers
1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
2. Los Angeles Rams (8-2)
3. Chicago Bears (8-3)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4)
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
6. Green Bay Packers (7-3-1)
7. San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
8. Detroit Lions (7-4)
9. Carolina Panthers (6-5)
10. Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1)
Week 12 came dangerously close to seeing the Detroit Lions fall even further back as they took the New York Giants to overtime before ultimately getting their victory. The Green Bay Packers took care of business against the Minnesota Vikings, who aren't even pictured above.
At the moment, the Bears are still atop the NFC North having won eight of their last nine games. It's nice to be looking down on the Packers (and of course Detroit and Minnesota, but particularly Green Bay).
But, things are going to get even more difficult, and very quickly.
Next up, the Bears have the Eagles in this year's edition of the league's Black Friday game. This begins a daunting stretch of defenses with Philly, Green Bay, Cleveland, and then Green Bay again.
Read more: DJ Moore just did two things he hadn't done all season with the Bears
Although it feels great right now, just one loss could see the Bears get bumped completely out of the playoff picture in the coming weeks, assuming teams like the Lions, 49ers and Packers manage additional wins.