Despite the fact that the Playoffs will elude them for the third consecutive seasons, the Chicago Bears have turned their season around in a huge way. Just think about how far they've come… after an 0-4 start to the season, which included an embarrassing home loss in week 1 to the Green Bay Packers and a blown 21-point lead in the 2nd half against the Denver Broncos in week 4, it seemed like another teardown could be on the horizon. Matt Eberflus, likely gone. Luke Getsy, super gone. Alan Williams, literally gone. Even Justin Fields, the Bears 2021 1st round pick who has routinely flashed unparalleled athleticism at the quarterback position, would likely be on his way out at season's end.

Fast forward two months and the outlook in Chicago is a whole heck of a lot more optimistic. The Bears are 7-9, meaning that for all but the first month of the season, they've been an above .500 team. Matt Eberflus has done enough to keep his job. Flus never lost the locker room and has turned the Bears defense into a top ten unit in the league as he's been calling plays. Luke Getsy might even get another shot in 2024. The city of Chicago and Justin Fields' teammates have rallied around their QB1. And now the Bears have the opportunity to knock the Packers out of the postseason field.

“We want to go in there and get a dub, not just because it’s Green Bay but just because we owe each other that,” Bears rookie cornerback and reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week Tyrique Stevenson said, per Zack Pearson of 247 Sports. “Coming out Week 1, not being the prepared team we are now, and just going out there now and know we’re finna go play our game is just a different feeling.”

The week 1 loss to Green Bay was such a profound disappointment that it felt like the Bears season had been derailed just one week in. The post-Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay was supposed to be the time when Chicago re-established themselves as the dominant team in the rivalry for the first time since the 1980's. Instead, the Bears showed up at Soldier Field week 1 and were thoroughly outclassed by the Packers. Same old story.

“You have to beat Green Bay. You have to beat them,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said on Sunday after the Bears win over Atlanta in their home finale. “Especially, the first game of the season, everybody still has that taste in their mouth. So we know this has to be a statement game for us.” Eddie Jackson is one of the few players left on the Bears roster who was there in 2018, the last time Chicago won the NFC North. That season, the Bears clinched the division in their week 15 win over Green Bay.

The NFC North title may not be on the line — that distinction already belongs to the Detroit Lions — but there's still plenty to play for in both Chicago and Green Bay. The Packers will likely find themselves in a win-and-in scenario on Sunday. The Bears have the chance to follow in the footsteps of the Detroit Lions in more ways than one.

Last year, the Lions won 8 of their final 10 games after starting 1-6, knocking the Packers out of playoff contention in Week 18. It was that second-half-of-the-season momentum that catapulted Detroit to their first division title in over three decades. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker is eyeing a similar result.

“We have won five-straight games at home which is very huge momentum for us. We could get an away win against the Packers, too. That definitely would be momentum to end the year.”