NEWSLETTER
The closing days of the calendar year is a time when I’m most reflective. I think back about my life experiences. The ups and downs. Comings and goings. And everything else.
But in this specific moment, I’m thinking about how I’m thankful to see the Chicago Bears reach Week 17 of the NFL season. There was a time back in March when I wasn’t sure this would happen. But it’s here. And more importantly, it’s meaningful.
The Bears are set to play a game of consequence on Sunday, and I don’t want to look past that not-so-minor detail. It’s a game that potentially has major implications for GM Ryan Pace, Head Coach Matt Nagy, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and a host of others. So while I don’t want to go down those rabbit holes in this moment, I want to acknowledge their existence. In the meantime, I’m going to focus on the most important thing in front of us — and that’s this game’s importance to the Bears’ playoff hopes.
Because, more than anything, football is a team game in which individuals in different phases of the game pull from the same end of the rope in an attempt to hoist a trophy named for Vince Lombardi in February.
So, how do the Bears get there? Let’s discuss.
If the Bears win, they’re in!
Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way, shall we?
The Bears will qualify for the playoffs if they beat the Packers on Sunday. By hook or by crook, a victory by Chicago’s football team punches that postseason ticket.
If only it were so easy.
Unfortunately, Green Bay is also playing for something on Sunday. Because the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16, the Packers need to win in order to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Had the Rams won, the Packers could’ve locked in home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with their win against the Titans. Instead, Green Bay needs to beat Chicago in order to snag that all-important first-round bye.
Remember, the new postseason format leaves just one bye week for each conference’s top overall seed. So, yeah, this is an important one for the Packers, too.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t get much simpler than this for the Bears: Win and you’re in.
But if they lose, they’ll need help…
The Bears have been favored in a head-to-head matchup against the Packers just three times since the start of the 2010 season, per Pro Football Reference’s data. In other words, there’s a long-established trend that the betting public doesn’t have much faith in Chicago when Green Bay is its opponent. With that in mind, allow me to point out that a Bears loss doesn’t eliminate them from postseason consideration.
Should the Bears lose to the Packers on Sunday, Chicago can still enter the playoffs by way of a Rams win against the Cardinals. Los Angeles entered Week 16 with the NFL’s top-rated defense and will still feature Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, Jalen Ramsey, and others who can make things difficult for Kyler Murray and friends.
Unfortunately, the Rams might take the field without their starting quarterback:
Jared Goff's right thumb is broken, @RapSheet and I have learned
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) December 28, 2020
The #Rams backup QB — and likely starter next week — is John Wolford. The former AAF passing TD leader with the Arizona Hotshots is a talent who has teammates intrigued. https://t.co/clzapuNE9J
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2020
The latest on Jared Goff's broken right thumb, from GameDay Final on @nflnetwork @ChrisRose @RamsNFL pic.twitter.com/4K1DSFUUgH
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) December 28, 2020
That’s right, Bears fans! Your favorite team’s playoff hopes are in the hands of a guy who was slinging the pill in the AAF earlier this year.
Is Jared Goff at 90 percent better than John Walford at full strength? I suppose that’s up for Goff and Rams doctors to decide. It’s certainly not a decision I’d want to be forced to make with the season on the line. Then again, we just watched the 49ers beat the Cardinals with CJ Beathard under center. So anything is possible, even if everything isn’t probable.
In the end, it’s also the most important game of the year for the Rams. And like the Bears, they’d like to make a second postseason appearance in the last three years. So since they’re as motivated to make the playoffs as the Bears are, they should just do both sides a solid, beat the Cardinals, and enter the postseason fray.
May the Force be with us all.
In the event of a tie…
You play to win the game are the famous words once bellowed by then-Jets coach Herm Edwards. But because it’s the regular season, any of these games could result in a tie.
Hey, don’t give me that look! I’d rather you find out from me than someone else.
Here’s what happens if ties are involved.
• If the Bears and Packers tie, Chicago can make the playoffs with a Cardinals loss or tie.
• If the Cardinals and Rams tie, the Bears can qualify if they tie.
• HOWEVER, if the Cardinals and Rams tie and the Bears lose to the Packers, then L.A. and Arizona will be playoff bound
In Conclusion…
The most direct path for the Bears to reach the playoffs is by beating the Packers.
That’s it. That’s the “easy” way. And it’s not all that easy.
So buckle up, baby. It’s gonna be a wild ride between now and when those 3:25 p.m. CT kickoffs reach their conclusions.
