Emma: All Of A Sudden, Bears Have Entered The Playoff Picture
By Chris Emma—
(CBS) A dose of a pathy surrounded the tailgate lots and pregame festivities prior to the Bears' season opener at Soldier Field. This was a miserable team to watch in 2014, and sentiments suggested this could be another rough ride.
But something seemingly odd at the time happened that first Sunday of the regular season. The Bears appeared competent in a respectable 31-23 loss to the rival Green Bay Packers. Then, that was reason for celebration – a moral victory to grasp, following so many brutal defeats the year before.
Since then, the Bears have been right there in every game that quarterback Jay Cutler has finished, the two outliers being Cutler-less losses to the Cardinals and Seahawks. After a convincing 37-13 win in St. Louis on Sunday, Chicago is now 4-5 on the season.
Believe it or not, the Bears are in the mix for a playoff berth.
"I do see us being able to make a push here," Bears tackle Kyle Long said. "And you'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't see a lot of improvements in this team."
Following Sunday's slate of games, there were an astounding 11 teams with 4-5 records in the NFL, including the first-place Colts, the talented Eagles, the upstart Buccaneers and more. In the weak NFC, the Falcons currently hold the second wild-card spot with a 6-3 record. Behind Atlanta is a group of six 4-5 teams, including the Bears, now just two games back of a playoff placeholder.
Next up for the Bears is a battle with the Broncos, John Fox's former team, and then Thanksgiving dinner in Green Bay with the Packers. Sunday's date with Denver was projected in the preseason to be a blowout loss for Chicago. It's now an even line in Las Vegas, with Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning injured and out for the game. Meanwhile, the Packers have dropped three straight games and seem to be in disarray.
The NFC North is a vast wasteland of mediocrity, now wide open for a rising team.
"As you can see in the NFL, like (Sunday), anything can happen," Long said. "We just got to keep our heads down and keep trudging forward."
After that season-opening loss to the Packers, the Bears were embarrassed by the Cardinals – with Cutler's second-quarter injury crushing what was a competitive game – and then a 26-0 defeat in Seattle in which they punted 10 times on 10 possessions. An 0-3 start seemed to define this team and the rest of its season. Chicago seemed destined to make a run at the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Credit Fox, his staff and players, who stayed the course amid a trying start to the season. There was a belief within the Bears that they could improve. Sure enough, they keep getting better and better, with wins over the Chargers and Rams this past week serving as evidence.
"We never lose hope, we never lose faith," said Matt Slauson, the left guard working in at center. "We're going to keep working hard, getting better every week, and we'll see where we are in January."
If the Bears can even salvage a split in their next two games – what seemed to be a crazy concept even a few weeks ago – they can feel more optimistic about their playoff chances knowing four of their final five games are against losing teams who boast a combined record of 13-23 to this point. While the NFC North-leading Vikings, now 7-2, keep improving, they sure looked beatable when the Bears let a win slip through their fingers on Nov. 1 at Soldier Field.
Frankly, it's hard to declare the Bears hopeless in any game the rest of this season, because this group has exceeded most expectations for 2015.
This 4-5 mark has brought a buzz to Chicago, quite possibly more so than any other 4-5 team has ever done. It's possible the Bears could completely regress and finish 4-12, making any playoff hopes seem laughable. But perhaps this team can make it interesting in the second half of this season.
Before that first game, the mere idea of playoff possibilities would've seemed like a punchline. But apathy has been rid as the Bears strive for the postseason.
