Toast88
Well-known member
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- May 10, 2014
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I promised myself I wouldn't get pulled into the unlikely Bears playoff discussion until there was serious movement.
1) I lied.
2) This win counts as serious movement.
With the win vs. the Cowboys, the Bears are now one half game back from forcing a winner-take-the-wildcard Week 17 matchup @ the Vikings.
Think of it as a half game back with 2 to play (3 for Minnesota) before Week 17. No one would say a team a half game back with 2-3 games left isn't a playoff contender. Here we go, boys.
So, what does that mean going forward?:
If:
-The Lions somehow beat the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday
AND
-The Seahawks beat the Rams in LA on Sunday night
Then:
-The Bears need only to stay on pace with the Vikings and Rams the rest of the way. Meaning, they wouldn't have to run the table to make the playoffs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And the Vikings and Rams' schedules, just like the Bears, show some potential Ls.
Rams:
vs. Seahawks
@Cowboys
@49ers
vs. Cardinals
Vikings:
vs. Lions
@Chargers
vs. Packers
vs. Bears
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just for simplicity's sake, I'll leave the Rams out of the rest of the discussion, especially since the Bears win a 3-way-tiebreak between the Bears/Vikings/Rams.
Let's say that the Vikings beat the Lions on Sunday, which they should do:
Then the Bears are 1 game back with 2 games remaining to force a winner-take-wildcard Week 17 matchup.
Then you have to beat the Packers at noon next Sunday, then hopefully watch the Chargers beat the Vikings at 3 p.m.
Then the Bears and Vikings will be on the same pace for a winner-take-all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the Bears lose to the Packers next Sunday after the Vikings beat the Lions this Sunday:
-They'll need the Vikings to lose the next two games---@Chargers later that afternoon and vs. the Packers the following week.
-They'll need to beat the Chiefs
This would leave the Bears 8-7 and the Vikings 9-6 heading into Week 17, setting up a winner-take-all
I'm sure many of you are like me. I'd love nothing more than for the Bears to somehow pull this off. But if you're at least just wanting some late-season relevant games, there's only ONE scenario in which the Bears' Week 16 game at home vs. the Chiefs is irrelevant:
The Bears will be eliminated from playoff contention before Week 16 IF:
-They lose to the Packers
AND
-The Vikings beat the Lions this week AND the Chargers next week
1) I lied.
2) This win counts as serious movement.
With the win vs. the Cowboys, the Bears are now one half game back from forcing a winner-take-the-wildcard Week 17 matchup @ the Vikings.
Think of it as a half game back with 2 to play (3 for Minnesota) before Week 17. No one would say a team a half game back with 2-3 games left isn't a playoff contender. Here we go, boys.
So, what does that mean going forward?:
If:
-The Lions somehow beat the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday
AND
-The Seahawks beat the Rams in LA on Sunday night
Then:
-The Bears need only to stay on pace with the Vikings and Rams the rest of the way. Meaning, they wouldn't have to run the table to make the playoffs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And the Vikings and Rams' schedules, just like the Bears, show some potential Ls.
Rams:
vs. Seahawks
@Cowboys
@49ers
vs. Cardinals
Vikings:
vs. Lions
@Chargers
vs. Packers
vs. Bears
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just for simplicity's sake, I'll leave the Rams out of the rest of the discussion, especially since the Bears win a 3-way-tiebreak between the Bears/Vikings/Rams.
Let's say that the Vikings beat the Lions on Sunday, which they should do:
Then the Bears are 1 game back with 2 games remaining to force a winner-take-wildcard Week 17 matchup.
Then you have to beat the Packers at noon next Sunday, then hopefully watch the Chargers beat the Vikings at 3 p.m.
Then the Bears and Vikings will be on the same pace for a winner-take-all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the Bears lose to the Packers next Sunday after the Vikings beat the Lions this Sunday:
-They'll need the Vikings to lose the next two games---@Chargers later that afternoon and vs. the Packers the following week.
-They'll need to beat the Chiefs
This would leave the Bears 8-7 and the Vikings 9-6 heading into Week 17, setting up a winner-take-all
I'm sure many of you are like me. I'd love nothing more than for the Bears to somehow pull this off. But if you're at least just wanting some late-season relevant games, there's only ONE scenario in which the Bears' Week 16 game at home vs. the Chiefs is irrelevant:
The Bears will be eliminated from playoff contention before Week 16 IF:
-They lose to the Packers
AND
-The Vikings beat the Lions this week AND the Chargers next week
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