What Bears need to happen to make NFL playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Bears are on a two-game win streak and back to .500.
This comes after a six-game losing streak derailed the Bears' season after a promising 5-1 start.
But despite a 7-7 record, the Bears are still in the playoff hunt, thanks in part to the expanded playoff field.
Right now, after beating the Vikings and with Week 15 games still being played, the Bears have a 45% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.
So what needs to happen for the Bears to make the playoffs? Let's look at two scenarios.
Bears Win Out
Let's assume the Bears beat the Jaguars, who've won a single game all season, in Week 16 and a Packers team potentially resting players in Week 17.
In that scenario the Bears finished the season 9-7.
If the Cardinals hang on to beat the Eagles in Week 15, they're 8-6.
They host the 49ers in Week 16 and play the Rams in Los Angeles in Week 17. If the Cardinals lose one of those final two games, they're also 9-7.
The tie-breaker would be the record in conference games. The Bears are currently 6-5 in conference and if they win out, they'd be 7-5 in the NFC. The Cardinals are currently 6-4 in the NFC (assuming they beat the Eagles) and if they went 1-1 in their final two games, would also be 7-5.
The tie-breaker than moves to best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four. The Bears and Cardinals have four common opponents: Rams, Giants, Panthers and Lions.
Right now, the Bears are 3-2 in those games while the Cardinals are 1-3. Even if they beat the Rams in their Week 17 game, the best they could be is 2-3 and the Bears would have the tie breaker.
Of course an Eagles comeback could render all this moot.
That's for the seventh seed.
If the Buccaneers (9-5) lose their final two games, and the Cardinals lose, the Bears could sneak climb as high as the sixth-seed thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker and the Bears' win over the Bucs earlier in the season.
Bears Go 1-1
If the Bears lose one of their final two games, they'd be 8-8 and need a lot more help to reach the playoffs.
For starters, they're not making up ground to catch the anything but the seventh-seed. Which means they need to overtake the Cardinals.
Assuming the Cardinals beat the Eagles in Week 15, the Bears would need the Cardinals to lose their final two games to have an 8-8 record as well and to force tie-breakers.
The tie-breaker again would be the record in conference games and if the Cardinals lost their Week 16 and 17 match ups, the Cardinals would be 6-6 in the NFC. If the Bears beat the Packers in Week 17 and lose to the Jaguars, they're in with a 7-5 NFC record
If they beat the Jags and lose to the Packers, they're also 6-6 in the NFC. That means the tie-breaker moves to best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
As mentioned before, the Bears own a 3-2 record in games among those four common opponents. The Cardinals are 1-3 before even playing their final game against the Rams, so the Bears win the tie-breaker.
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