Chicago Bears Playoff Chances 2019: How The Defending NFC North Champs Can Make The NFL Postseason

The Chicago Bears are mathematically still in the hunt to reach the postseason entering Week 15 of the 2019 NFL season. With the slimmest of playoff chances, the team needs just about everything to go right in order to keep playing beyond Week 17.

How can Chicago reach the playoffs? It starts with winning the rest of their games.

The Bears are 7-6, trailing the Green Bay Packers by three games in the NFC North. The Minnesota Vikings are two games ahead of Chicago in the division race.

Chicago visits Green Bay Sunday in a must-win game. The Bears will host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 before visiting Minnesota in the regular-season finale.

In order to win the division, the Bears need to win while the Packers lose out. Chicago can only afford for Minnesota to win one of their three final games.

Green Bay visits Minnesota in Week 16 and Detroit in Week 17. The Vikings play at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15. Chicago needs Minnesota’s one victory to come against Green Bay.

That’s obviously a lot to ask, considering how well the Packers and Vikings have played this season. Green Bay is the No.2 seed in the NFC. Minnesota is still in the race to get a first-round bye.

Earning the No.6 seed and the second NFC wild-card berth is probably Chicago’s only realistic path to the postseason. That means at least tying the Vikings—the Bears beat them in Week 4—in the standings, as well as passing the Los Angeles Rams.

L.A. defeated Chicago in Week 11.

The Rams are a game ahead of the Bears in the wild-card race. Los Angeles is set to visit the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 and the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. The Rams will host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17.

Los Angeles can certainly lose in Dallas and San Francisco. The Cowboys are fighting to win the NFC East. San Francisco is atop the NFC West and tied for the best record in the NFL.

The Rams have won two games in a row. Their only loss in the last month came at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Bears are on a three-game winning streak.

Chicago hasn’t beaten an opponent that’s above .500 in over two months. Now, they need to defeat three winning teams in as many weeks just to have a shot of getting back to the playoffs.