After losing in heart-breaking fashion to the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears are on the outside looking in. The race for the NFC’s final playoff position is continuing to heat up, and although the loss is serious blow to the Bears’ postseason aspirations, they’re not out of the running just yet.
Although the Bears are technically still in the playoff hunt, they’ll now need a lot of help in the last four games of the season to make it back into the show. A win over the Vikings would have allowed the Bears to keep pace with the Detroit Lions within their own division. With the loss, the Lions suddenly have the inside track to a divisional title.
When it mattered most, Adrian Peterson was able to grind out yards against Chicago’s normally staunch defense, even though the Bears knew exactly what was coming. Peterson gashed the bears for over 200 yards on the ground, and more importantly, he took pressure off the Vikings’ normally inefficient passing attack.
In a rare twist, Sunday’s loss to the Vikings has to be put on the back of the Bears’ defensive performance. With Josh McCown under center, the Bears were able to put together solid drives throughout the day, but for everything the Bears’ offense did right, their defense let them down.
Unfortunately, the Bears don’t have an easy road into the playoffs. First and foremost, they’ll need the Lions to slip up in the divisional race. In addition to that, the Bears will have to beat other playoff contenders such as the Cowboys and Eagles. If they can manage to win their remaining four contests, however, they’ll be able to put themselves in good shape to sneak into the playoffs. Considering the Bears just got beat by the Minnesota Vikings, however, the odds of them winning a few difficult games in the coming weeks don’t exactly seem to be in their favor.
