The Bears and the Playoffs: Keeping an Eye on the NFC Standings

If the playoffs started today, the Chicago Bears would get a bye week and a guaranteed home game.

As weird as those words might sound to those who projected a less than successful season for the refreshed Monsters of the Midway, it's true. And while the season doesn't end today, the Bears are set up for a potentially very successful 2010 season.

As we go through the last few weeks of the season, we'll take a look at the playoff standings, and see what kind of movement occurs moving forward. Where will the wildcards come from? Will the West be won with a losing record? Time will tell...and we'll find out here.

Head past the jump to see the NFC standings (excluding tonight's game--a Herculean battle for the NFC West) and we'll see what's upcoming.

National Football Conference - 2010 Regular Season
	NFC Team	Div	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
1.	Atlanta Falcons	NCS	9	2	0	.818	276	209	67	29	6-0	3-2	2-0	1.000	6-1	.857	3-1	5W	5-0
2.	Chicago Bears	NCN	8	3	0	.727	222	172	50	24	4-2	4-1	3-0	1.000	6-3	.667	2-0	4W	4-1
3.	Philadelphia Eagles	NCE	7	4	0	.636	310	257	53	34	3-2	4-2	2-1	.667	5-3	.625	2-1	1L	3-2
4.	St. Louis Rams	NCW	5	6	0	.455	213	231	-18	22	4-2	1-4	1-2	.333	3-5	.375	2-1	1W	2-3
5.	New Orleans Saints	NCS	8	3	0	.727	265	197	68	30	4-2	4-1	3-1	.750	7-2	.778	1-1	4W	4-1
6.	New York Giants	NCE	7	4	0	.636	277	240	37	33	4-2	3-2	1-2	.333	5-2	.714	2-2	1W	3-2
7.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	NCS	7	4	0	.636	219	223	-4	26	3-2	4-2	2-2	.500	5-2	.714	2-2	1L	3-2
8.	Green Bay Packers	NCN	7	4	0	.636	269	166	103	32	4-1	3-3	3-1	.750	5-3	.625	2-1	1L	4-1
9.	Seattle Seahawks	NCW	5	6	0	.455	209	275	-66	21	3-2	2-4	3-1	.750	4-3	.571	1-3	2L	1-4
10.	Washington Redskins	NCE	5	6	0	.455	215	262	-47	22	2-4	3-2	2-1	.667	4-4	.500	1-2	1L	2-3

Standings taken from nfl.com

We're only looking at the top 10 teams here, and even then, that's largely because the Seahawks are more than in play for the West still.

The first thing that'll jump out at you will be that the 7-4 Packers and 7-4 Buccaneers wouldn't be in if it ended today. No, Wait. The thing that will jump out is that the Rams are currently leading the West with a 5-6 record. What's worse? No matter who wins the game between the Cardinals and 49ers, the Rams will still be leading the division with a 5-6 record. There are five games left--and no guarantees that any team out there can win more than they can lose.

The NFC Wild Card spots are increasingly looking like they will come from the East and South, especially with the Falcons playing such dominating football. That means that the North may only send one contender. The Bears win and Packers loss yesterday, the Bears have bought themselves ever so tiny a cushion in leading the NFC North.

It won't be easy to hold the Packers off, though. Here's a look at each team's schedule for the rest of the season:

So as you can see, the Packers have two games that it's hard not to say are gimmes, per se, over the next two weeks. They also play the Patriots, and a Giants team that is somewhat up and down.The Bears, on the other hand, play 3 division games and the two highest seeds from the AFC. This is a season that very well could come down to the last game of the season--Bears/Packers at Lambeau Field. Let's hope it doesn't come to that?

What About Those Terrible Seeds? (AKA---The WILD WILD WEST)

That's where things get tricky. Should teams with lower records make the playoffs, while teams with better records (and arguably much more difficult division schedules) sit home in January? That's the big question. What are your thoughts? Place some well-reasoned arguments about keeping the system, or going to the top 6 seeds regardless. We'll recap some of the best from each side in next weeks column.