Bears' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 16

A miserable Christmas day for the Minnesota Vikings was a great gift for the Chicago Bears. The Vikings' humiliating 52-33 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday eliminated them from playoff contention at 6-9.

That's one less team the Bears will have to worry about in their pursuit of one of the wild-card spots in the NFC playoff picture. Chicago has seen an offensive revival around Mitchell Trubisky that has the team back in the postseason picture after looking dead and buried for several weeks.

Week 16 sees a favorable matchup, as they travel to face the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, who are in prime position to get the No. 1 pick in the draft. It should be relatively easy for them to take care of business, but at 7-7, they still need other results to go their way in Week 16 to help their cause.

Here's a look at the general picture for the Bears, as well as a look at the teams they should be rooting for in the games that could affect their hopes.

NFC Playoff Picture

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Three NFC teams have already clinched at least a spot in the playoffs heading into Week 16: the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. The Saints and Packers have already won their divisions.

The NFC East and West have yet to be determined. The East could be won by a team with a losing record, as the Washington Football Team are in first place at 6-8.

That leaves all three wild-card spots up for grabs. The Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the inside track for the first two at 9-5. However, the Arizona Cardinals are just one game up on the 7-7 Bears with an 8-6 record.

The Bears are on the outside looking in, but there's hope if some things fall their way and they take care of business. After going to Jacksonville on Sunday, they close the regular season by hosting a Packers team who beat them 41-25 in Week 12.

Buccaneers at Lions

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The Buccaneers are two games ahead of the Bears in the standings, so the only way Chicago can catch them at this juncture is to win its last two games and hope Tampa Bay loses its next two. The Bears hold a tiebreaker over the Bucs thanks to their 20-19 win over Tom Brady's team in October.

The Bucs have the advantage of motivation here. A win over the Lions will secure their spot in the playoffs.

However, they will need to do it without Ronald Jones II. Scott Smith of the team's website reported the running back will not make it through COVID-19 protocol in time to suit up Sunday. Jones was conspicuously absent from the team's 31-27 win over the Falcons in Week 15.

The running game struggled, with Leonard Fournette leading the team in rushing with 49 yards and 3.5 yards per carries.

Few would pick the Lions to win this game straight up. They are 30th in overall efficiency by ESPN's metrics, but they are just two weeks removed from a 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers and three from a win over the Bears.

This one doesn't look good, but it's possible.

Rooting interest: Lions

49ers at Cardinals

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This is the biggest one on the slate from Chicago's perspective. The Bears can earn a game in the standings against the Cardinals to tie things up going into the final week with a win over the Jaguars and an Arizona loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Conversely, the Cardinals are playing with the motivation that a win over the 49ers and a Bears loss would clinch their postseason spot. If they don't pick up the win over the Niners, then it's off to Los Angeles to play the Rams in a game that could determine the NFC West standings.

San Francisco comes to the game on a three-game losing streak. This has been a season to forget for the injury-ravaged Niners, but George Kittle, who has only played six games this year, will return from a broken foot.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said his star tight end will be on a "pitch count" while announcing Kittle would be back in the lineup. Regardless of what that number is, having the tight end back in the lineup makes San Francisco a more dangerous team.

That's good news for Bears fans hoping things fall their way in Week 16.

Rooting interest: 49ers

Titans at Packers

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This one has less to do with the playoff positioning and more about the prospects of beating the Packers in Week 17. The Bears won't get in without exorcising the demons from Week 12's 41-25 loss.

The emerging offense is reason to have some optimism, but extenuating circumstances can't hurt their chances.

On one hand, a matchup against the Tennessee Titans could be a good precursor to beating the Packers—nothing like being charged with stopping Derrick Henry for four quarters can beat up a defense. A win for the Titans behind a bruising performance from their running back could ease the load for the Bears offensive line the following week.

On the other hand, the Packers have the ability to clinch the first seed and a bye. The Packers would be able to rest their starters if they are playing for nothing as a result of beating the Titans and the Seahawks losing to the Rams.

That's probably the best chance to catch the Packers off guard. While they may decide to play their starters either way, there will be less reason for them to feed Davante Adams and Aaron Jones and risk injury.

They might need to hold their noses while doing so, but it's in Chicago fans' best interest to root for their NFC North rival.

Rooting interest: Packers