For Bears, 4-1 finish should secure wild-card playoff spot
The Bears don't need to run the table to make the playoffs.
A 9-7 record will be more than good enough to snag the second of two wild-card spots in an NFC with two Super Bowl contenders - the 10-1 Cowboys and Packers - and a bunch of pretenders. Two of the also-rans will win division titles because someone has to - probably the Seahawks in the West and the Bucs in the South.
The rules also require the NFC to send two wild-card teams to the playoffs. The Giants, who visit Soldier Field Sunday, have the inside track with a 7-4 record. But they've lost two of their last three and could be preparing for another world-class fold-up similar to last season, when they lost six of their last eight games and limped into the playoffs at 8-8 before a first-round exit.
The Bears don't need to finish ahead of the Giants, but they need to beat them Sunday to get to .500 and to improve their conference record, which is a key tie-breaker in determining playoff teams.
The Bears currently have the worst NFC record (2-5) of the six teams poised at 5-6 to pounce on the staggering 6-5 Lions. But four of those 5-6 teams (Eagles, Redskins, Vikings and Cardinals) are just 3-5 in the NFC.
The Lions started 6-2 but will be lucky to finish .500. They've lost three straight and had earlier losses of 35 points to the 5-6 Eagles and 31 points to the 5-6 Redskins. They still have to play on the road at Minnesota, Green Bay and San Diego and at home against the Chiefs and Cowboys.
The Bears can greatly improve their tie-breaking status since they still play the Redskins, Vikings and Saints, all NFC teams with 5-6 records. All five of their remaining games are against NFC teams, so winning four of five would elevate their conference record to a respectable 6-6.
The question is: Can the Bears, who haven't won two in a row all season, go 4-1 down the stretch with a journeyman as their featured runner and a defense that has lost its swagger?
Three of their final five games are at home, which should help, even though the Bears are just 2-3 this season at Soldier Field. Sunday they get the Giants, who are staggering after a disastrous 41-17 loss to the Vikings. The Giants played that game without their top two running backs (Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward), although playing with a third-string running back didn't seem to bother the Denver Broncos against the Bears.
Back-to-back prime-time road games follow against the Redskins on Thursday and 11 days later on Monday night vs. the Vikings, when the Bears will have an extra three days of preparation.
The Redskins are reeling as badly as the Lions. They've lost three straight, four of their last five, and five of their last seven. The Vikings beat the Bears at Soldier Field on Oct. 14, but the Bears won eight of the 12 previous meetings, although just one of the last four at the Metrodome.
Then the Bears finish at home against the Packers and the Saint. Green Bay may be resting starters for the playoffs by then. The Saints, of course, were destroyed 39-14 in the NFC championship game at Soldier Field 10 months ago.
Defeating four of those final five foes is possible - especially if they all kick to Devin Hester.
Listen to Bob LeGere each Wednesday at 7:20 a.m. on "The Mike North Morning Show" on WSCR 670-AM.