The Chicago Bears (10-4) bounced back from a painful loss to the Green Bay Packers with a relatively easy 31-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 15. As a result of that victory the Packers' loss to the Denver Broncos, the Bears are back in first place in the NFC North.
They are also in the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff structure, and they could find a way to get to the No. 1 spot. That position is currently occupied by the Los Angeles Rams (11-3), but Sean McVay's team is not assured of maintaining that position. The Rams play at Seattle Thursday night, and if Los Angeles loses that game and the Bears beat the Packers Saturday night at Soldier Field, Chicago will have a better conference record than the Rams.
The Bears would find themselves in a battle with the Rams and Seahawks for that No. 1 spot, but head coach Ben Johnson's team would have a legitimate shot at earning that position and getting a first-round bye in the playoffs.
That would be an amazing development for a team that finished in last place in the NFC North a year ago and has regularly finished with double-digit losses in recent years.
The Bears have shown they know how to win when the game is tight in the final minutes. That's something that second-year quarterback Caleb Williams has shown he can handle — which is the opposite of the way he played as a rookie last year.
Bears have to finish with a flourish
The Bears do not have an easy schedule. They have been dominated by the Packers for more than three decades, but they have to find a way to beat the Packers at Soldier Field.
After that game, the Bears go to San Francisco in Week 17, a game that several critics have called a “schedule loss.” They close the year against the somewhat disappointing Detroit Lions. While Dan Campbell's team has not been able to match the performance of either of the last two years, the Lions pounded the Bears 52-21 in Week 2, and Williams will have to come up with a special performance to lead the Bears to a victory in the regular-season finale.
It starts with this week's game against their archrivals. Chicago came up with a solid effort in Week 14 at Green Bay, rallying in the second half to tie the game in the 4th quarter before a late Packer touchdown gave Green Bay the winning margin and a Williams interception clinched the game for the Packers.
However, the Bears unleashed a strong running game with D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai in the second half that had the Packers defense gassed. Since superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his ACL in the loss to the Broncos, the Packers defense is not likely to be as strong in the rematch. If the Bears can demonstrate a solid running game and Williams can unleash big throws to D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and tight end Colston Loveland, the Bears could gain an early advantage and dictate the pace of the game.
That is certainly the formula the Bears want to use in order to beat the Packers and establish a 1 1/2 game lead in the NFC North.
Coaching will come into play at San Francisco
After playing the Packers and seeing the Lions on the schedule as the regular-season finale, it will be difficult for the Bears to come up with their best effort on the road against the 49ers in a game that San Francisco will need to establish its playoff position.
The Niners (10-4) are on a roll as they have won 4 games in a row and if they can beat 44-year-old Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts on the road, they will take a 5-game winning streak into their game with the Bears. The Niners offense has been on point and Brock Purdy had one of his best games as he threw for 295 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in the Week 15 victory against the Tennessee Titans.
Christian McCaffrey is once again the team's dominant offensive performer with 922 rushing yards and 9 TDs as well as a team-leading 86 receptions for 820 yards and 5 more touchdowns. Whether McCaffrey has been in a Niners uniform or a Carolina Panthers uniform, the Bears have always struggled against him.
Somehow, Johnson will have to rally the Bears to a top road effort if they are going to come up with a key victory over the Niners.
After that, the Bears will have to exchange blows with the Lions. Detroit has demonstrated more muscle and skill than the Bears in the Dan Campbell era and that can't happen if the Bears are playing for the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
It will not be easy to come up with wins over the Packers, Niners and Lions, but that is the dream scenario for the surprising Bears during the final 3 weeks of the regular season.
