Bears need luck to make playoffs
With a little luck ... well, OK, with a lot of luck, the Bears (8-6) could, by the end of the weekend, wind up sitting in the No. 4 spot in the race for the two NFC wild-card spots.
They started Week 15 in the No. 6 spot, but if the Redskins (7-6) lose to the Bengals at Cincinnati (1-11-1), and the Eagles (7-5-1) lose at home to the Browns, the Bears would leapfrog them.
The next team ahead of the Bears is the Falcons (8-5) in the No. 3 spot, but even if they lose at home to the Bucs, Atlanta would get the nod over the Bears because the Falcons defeated them in head-to-head competition, the first tie-breaker.
The Cowboys (8-5) would have the same overall record as the Bears if they lose at home to the Giants. Since they don't play each other this season, the next tiebreaker is conference record. A Dallas loss Sunday would leave them at 6-5 in the NFC, same as the Bears. Then it would go to the third tiebreaker, which is record against common opponents. The Cowboys are 3-1 in such games, while the Bears are 2-2, but each has one game remaining against a common opponent. The Cowboys must play the Eagles on the road in the season finale, and the Bears host the Packers on Dec. 22. If the Cowboys lose and the Bears win, the next tiebreaker is strength of victory.
It's still a longshot. The Bears can also qualify for the playoffs by winning the NFC North by finishing with a better overall record than the Vikings (8-5), who hold the tiebreaker edge if they finish with identical records.
Good to toe: The update was promising Friday on injured running back Matt Forte, who missed a chunk of the first half Thursday night after injuring his right big toe.
"He has a sore toe," coach Lovie Smith said, "but he was able to finish the game, and I don't think he'll have any other trouble with it."
Forte was limited to 34 yards on 11 carries, but he also caught 5 passes for 29 yards, giving him 58 receptions for 424 yards and breaking team records for receptions by a running back (56 by Thomas Jones) and by a rookie (56 by Mike Ditka).
Forte has 1,539 yards from scrimmage and is just the fourth player in franchise history with 1,500 or more, joining Walter Payton, Neal Anderson and Gale Sayers
Coming and going: Linebacker Gilbert Gardner was signed to the 53-man roster Friday, and running back Garrett Wolfe was placed on injured reserve. Wolfe still leads the Bears with 21 special-teams tackles despite being sidelined with a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff against the Jaguars on Sunday.
Gardner was the Colts' 2004 third-round selection (69th overall) out of Purdue. After being released by the Colts, he was claimed off waivers by Tennessee and appeared in 13 games in 2007. He signed with the Lions as an unrestricted free agent on March 24 and appeared in two games this season before being released Oct. 25.