Who\u2019s afraid of the big, bad\u2026
\nSeahawks?
\nPackers?
\nEagles?
\nNot really. As the Bears head toward the playoffs, the field is wide open.<\/p>\n
There is no juggernaut. Any opponent like the Chiefs\u2019 dynasty teams, the Eagles\u2019 recent loaded rosters or the Rams when Aaron Donald led their defense would\u2019ve been a certain dead end, but that roadblock doesn\u2019t exist this season. It\u2019s perfect timing for an upstart.<\/p>\n
In the craziest of Bears seasons, the craziest part is that the idea of going to the Super Bowl isn\u2019t so crazy.
\nThey\u2019re far from the favorite \u2014 in the NFC, the Rams, Seahawks, Eagles, 49ers and Packers all have better betting odds \u2014 but there\u2019s no playoff matchup in which they\u2019d be overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
The Bears\u2019 chances would improve if they secure some home games. Heading into their game Sunday against the 49ers at Levi\u2019s Stadium, the site of the upcoming Super Bowl, they\u2019re atop the NFC North and in the No. 2 seed. That would guarantee a home game to open another if they advance and put them in line to host the conference title game if No. 1 falls.
\nThey would clinch that with one win or one Packers loss over the final two weeks. The Bears close at home against the Lions, while the Packers host the Ravens on Saturday, then visit the Vikings.<\/p>\n
To overtake the top-seeded Seahawks for a first-round bye, the Bears must win out and Seattle lose to the Panthers and 49ers.<\/p>\n
Regardless, these playoffs are a free-for-all.
\nThe Rams, the betting favorite, sit fifth in the NFC. The Seahawks have a formidable defense and have a vaunted home-field advantage, but quarterback Sam Darnold has never won a playoff game. The Bears bullied the defending champion Eagles and beat the Packers within the past month.<\/p>\n
In the AFC, the top-seeded Broncos are depending on quarterback Bo Nix, who is behind the Bears\u2019 Caleb Williams in passer rating. The Patriots are 12-3, but have played the weakest schedule in the league. The Chargers are behind the Bears in betting odds.<\/p>\n
The stage is set for chaos, which happens to be the Bears\u2019 specialty.
\nWilliams can launch an incredible pass at any moment. The defense is a turnover magnet. Coach Ben Johnson has absurd trick plays in his pocket. They\u2019ve set an NFL record by pulling out six wins in which they trailed in the final two minutes, doing so on everything from a blocked field goal to a touchdown bomb in overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve played teams where we had to win with special teams, offense, defense, running the ball \u2014 whatever the case,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI like our chances versus anybody.\u201d
\nMost Bears haven\u2019t been here before, but they have enough who have in veterans Joe Thuney, Kevin Byard, Grady Jarrett and others. They know anything can happen once a team is \u201cin the tournament\u201d as Johnson calls it.<\/p>\n
Byard helped spark the Titans\u2019 dramatic turnaround early in his career, and they caught fire in the second half of 2019 to claim a wild-card spot and storm all the way to the AFC Championship Game.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about getting hot at the right time, and obviously, we\u2019ve been playing really good ball,\u201d Byard said. \u201cIt\u2019s about continuously getting better and not resting on what we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any number of things could ignite that kind of run for the Bears. There\u2019s a sense that Williams\u2019 breakthrough could happen any minute. Johnson has made all the right moves. Their defense has gotten key pieces back from injuries.<\/p>\n
So bring on the craziness. The Bears can handle it.<\/p>\n
Q: Who are the top contenders in the NFC?
\nA: The Rams, Seahawks, Eagles, 49ers, and Packers are among the top contenders in the NFC.
\nQ: What do the Bears need to do to secure a first-round bye?
\nA: The Bears must win out and the Seahawks must lose to the Panthers and 49ers for the Bears to overtake the top-seeded Seahawks.
\nQ: What is the key to the Bears’ success in the playoffs?
\nA: The Bears’ ability to handle chaos and their experience in playing close games could be the key to their success in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the NFL Playoffs Who\u2019s afraid of the big, bad\u2026 Seahawks? Packers? Eagles? Not really. As the Bears head toward the playoffs, the field is wide open. The Absence of a Juggernaut There is no juggernaut. Any opponent like the Chiefs\u2019 dynasty teams, the Eagles\u2019 recent loaded rosters or the Rams when Aaron Donald […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/6e42b7a\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4000x2283+0+0\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F43%2F35%2F6c97836e4fc095d66d577113e831%2Fap25002592301979.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34452"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34455,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34452\/revisions\/34455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}