Bears' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 15

The Chicago Bears have experienced the most topsy-turvy season in the NFL in 2020, yet they still remain in playoff contention into Week 15. 

Granted, they are hanging on by a thread, but the opportunity to get in the postseason is still possible. The Bears' 36-7 win over the Texans not only saw them discover something called "offense," but it boosted their playoff odds from 12 percent to 19 percent, per the New York Times' playoff projection tool. 

Mitchell Trubisky emerged with the best game from a Bears quarterback all season. He outproduced Deshaun Watson with 267 yards and three touchdowns, while the Bears defense sacked Watson six times and held him to just 219 yards and a touchdown through the air. 

After a 5-1 start to the season, the Bears' playoff hopes had seemingly vanished in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Now an all-important matchup with the Vikings looms, as the loser will likely be eliminated from the race. If Chicago wins, their odds will be boosted to somewhere in the 40 percent range, per the projection tool. 

It's a reason for optimism in a season that has been chaotic for the Bears, oftentimes in the worst ways. 

Still, even a win against the Vikings won't have the Bears sitting pretty by itself. There are some other things that could happen that will help them in their quest to go from the ninth seed to that coveted final playoff spot. 

Here's a rundown of the games Bears fans should be watching and who they will want to win those games. 

NFC Playoff Picture

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First, let's zoom out and take a look at the landscape in the NFC right now. The Bears are relegated to competing for the wild card as the Green Bay Packers have run away with the NFC North and are in competition with the New Orleans Saints for the top seed in the conference. 

That top seed takes on added importance this season as the NFL's new seven-team format only gives the No. 1 seed a bye week. 

The Rams and Seahawks are engaged in a battle that will likely determine the third and fifth seeds. Both are 9-4 with three games left, and the Seahawks have a one-game advantage over the 8-5 Buccaneers who are in the sixth spot. 

The NFC East will produce a playoff team because it is contractually obligated to do so. The competition for that distinction has actually heated up in recent weeks. The Washington Football Team has come within a game of .500 at 6-7, while the Giants are a game behind at 5-8. 

That leaves the 7-6 Cardinals in the seventh and final spot right now. they are a game ahead of both the Bears and the Vikings at 6-7. The easiest path to the playoffs for the Bears comes from winning out, which would include a win over the Vikings while the Cardinals finish the season 1-2. 

Buccaneers at Falcons

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Another (more unlikely) scenario that would let the Bears sneak into the playoffs is to win out and hope the Bucs completely fall apart. The Bears are two games behind the Bucs at this juncture, but they would hold a tiebreaker over Tom Brady's side thanks to their 20-19 win in Week 5.

Again, this is the much less likely path to the playoffs. The Buccaneers would need to lose at least two of their next three while the Bears win out. Tampa has the Falcons twice and the Lions on the day after Christmas between them. 

Those are all games that the Buccaneers should be heavy favorites in. But the Falcons have been a tough team to get a read on in recent weeks. At 4-9, it could be argued they aren't likely to be putting up a fight, but Matt Ryan is 35 years old, so tanking doesn't do anything for him. 

The Falcons lost to the lowly Chargers 20-17 last week, but before that, they lost to the Saints by five and routed the Raiders, who are in the AFC playoff hunt, 43-6. 

In other words, don't hold your breath, but with Calvin Ridley and Ryan putting up numbers this year, the Falcons have just enough offense to make things interesting on a good day. 

Rooting interest: Falcons

49ers at Cowboys

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This one is less about jumping up in the playoff rankings and more about eliminating any surprise competition come Week 17. According to FiveThirtyEight's playoff projections, the 49ers have a 9 percent chance of qualifying for a wild-card spot. 

The Bears' 19 percent odds will likely see a jump with a win over the Vikings in Week 15. Combined with a loss from the Niners and that final playoff spot likely comes down to the Bears and Cardinals. 

Rooting for the Cowboys hasn't been a particularly fun endeavor this season. But then again, neither has rooting for the 49ers. San Francisco has lost five of its last six and pretty much played itself out of the playoff picture with a 23-15 loss to the Washington Football Team next week. 

The offense has no bite with Nick Mullens at quarterback. Washington won the game without scoring an offensive touchdown as the defense scored twice and kicker Dustin Hopkins booted three field goals. 

The Cowboys aren't an offensive juggernaut with Andy Dalton at the helm, but they at least put up 30 points on the Bengals last week. That counts for something. 

There's a reason this game got flexed to a 1 p.m. kickoff time, but it could make the Bears path a little easier if the 49ers continue to struggle. 

Rooting interest: Cowboys

Eagles at Cardinals

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Here's the big one. With a win over the Vikings and an Eagles win over the Cardinals in Arizona, the Bears' playoff odds suddenly get over the 50 percent mark to around 53 percent, according to the New York Times' playoff projection tool. 

While relying on the Eagles isn't a great place to be, Philadelphia is coming off its best win of the season. The struggling NFC East squad picked up a surprise 24-21 win over the New Orleans Saints. Miles Sanders overcame his lack of usage to put up 115 yards on the ground on 14 carries for two touchdowns. 

Switching from Carson Wentz to Jalen Hurts at quarterback added a new dimension to the offense. Hurts ran for 106 yards while throwing for another 167 with a touchdown to win in his first NFL start. Head coach Doug Pederson has already confirmed the rookie will make his second start against the Cardinals. 

Hurts avoided taking a single sack playing behind an offensive line that has surrendered a league-high 53 sacks so far this season. 

The Cardinals picked up a much-needed win against the Giants to snap a three-game losing streak. Now they'll have to prove they are capable of putting together two strong performances in a row against a team that has renewed energy behind a young quarterback. 

Rooting interest: Eagles