Chicago Bears: They Need a Christmas Gift from the Green Bay Packers
Published by Gabe Salgado on December 24, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
It was the night before Christmas and all through Bears land, there was a sickening feeling that they needed to make friends in Packer land.
Even though it is only for one week it doesn’t hurt any less. Especially since the Bears season has become such a mess.
The bottom line is this: Not only do the Bears need to win this Sunday, they also need the Packers to defeat the Minnesota Vikings.
This is the only way the Bears can get into the playoffs this season. The good thing is with the Bears winning and the Cowboys and Giants losing yesterday, the Bears are just one game behind the final playoff spot.
Seattle clinched a playoff berth with their decisive victory over San Francisco last night. But the 49ers clinched a playoff spot last week.
When all is said done, those two teams will hold the NFC West division championship and the first wild card spot.
So it comes down to the Bears, Vikings, Giants, Cowboys and Redskins for the final spot. All the Bears need to do is win to hold up their end of the bargain.
This is where the Packers come in. The Bears need Green Bay to defeat Minnesota in order to clinch the sixth seed in the NFC.
If the Bears lose, it won’t matter what happens in Wisconsin on Sunday because they will be eliminated.
Making this happen will not be easy. The Detroit Lions would love to salvage their season by playing the role of spoiler.
Although Detroit is only 2-5 at home in 2012, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford averages 300 passing yards per game.
The Lions would love nothing more than to finish the season with a victory over a division rival. The Bears have already beaten the Lions this season.
Plus Detroit has lost its last five games and have allowed at least 30 points in each of those games. This gives the Bears some hope for this week.
The Packers will be playing at home as well. And while it sounds easy for Aaron Rodgers and company to defend their home turf and dismantle the Vikings the way they did to Tennessee last week, it’s not as easy as you would think.
The Vikings pulled off a huge upset on the road at Houston yesterday. They are also trying to save their season, plus the fact they are on a mission to help Adrian Peterson break the single-season rushing record.
The Vikings will have their own motivation this week so the Packers should not underestimate them.
It would be best for the Bears to worry about Detroit and not worry about what the rest of the conference is doing.
If the Bears can win on Sunday, hopefully everything else will fall into place. But regardless, the Bears will need a Christmas gift from their neighbors to the north in order to make the playoffs for the first time in two years.
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