Despite win against Dallas, Bears now face even steeper odds for playoff appearance

The Bears picked up a crucial win against the Cowboys last Thursday, improving to 7-6 and securing their fourth win in the past five weeks.

Despite the victory, though, Chicago faces an even tougher road to a playoff appearance due to outside factors. With the Vikings, Rams and Packers all winning in their Week 14 games, the Bears sit two games out of a playoff spot with time rapidly running out.

In order for them to make the playoffs, the Bears have to defeat at least one of either the Packers or Chiefs, as well as defeat the Vikings in Week 17. If Chicago were to win out, then Minnesota would still be able to beat either the Chargers or Packers and still lose the tiebreaker to the Bears, as both teams would be 10-6. If the Bears lose one of their aforementioned games, though, then they would have to rely on the Vikings losing all of their games—including their matchup against the Bears—to sneak into the playoffs.

This doesn’t even take into account the Rams, who sit one game ahead of the Bears as the seventh-best team in the NFC. Currently sitting at 8-5, they would have to lose at least two of their remaining three games—in addition to the Bears winning out—for Chicago to make the playoffs.

If Los Angeles were to lose to the Cowboys, 49ers and Cardinals, then the Bears would be able to lose one of their remaining matchups and still be ahead of them in the playoff race. This would also rely on the Vikings losing out, as well. Since the Rams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bears, Chicago would have to have a better record than them in order to beat them out for a Wild Card spot.

The only way the Bears could make the playoffs regardless of the Rams’ record is if they somehow win the division, which would require them to win out, the Packers to lose the rest of their games, and the Vikings to lose all of their games except their matchup against Green Bay.

In short, don’t bet on the Bears making the playoffs.

Sports Betting Dime has the Bears’ odds to make the playoffs decreasing this week, solidifying that bettors don’t trust them to pull off a miracle and sneak in as the second Wild Card team.

SBD’s Sascha Paruk had this to say about their chances:

The Bears were +1200 to make the NFC playoffs before beating Dallas in Week 14. The Bears are still two games back of the second Wild Card with just three weeks to go, and are 4.5 point underdogs at Green Bay in Week 15. Their playoff chances are between 2% and 5% (depending on which projection system you trust) in part because they also need to leapfrog the high-ceiling Rams.

Though still mathematically possible, the Bears need a lot of dominoes to fall in their direction in order to sneak into the playoffs. These next few weeks could prove to be difficult ones for them and their fans.